De Notenkraker, 5 oktober 1907 / Het anti-rev. kiesrechtraadsel / Wie is het gezinshoofd? Possibly 1907 - 1915

This lithograph from 1907, by Albert Hahn, is all about line, etched in deep black ink, scratching out form and meaning. Just imagine Hahn standing at his desk, pen in hand, bearing down on the page to make this image. The question "Wie is het gezinshoofd?" - who is the head of the family? - seems to emerge out of the cross-hatching. The mother, rigid and upright, her face tight and masculine. The father, soft and weak, carrying a child, pushing a pram. Which one leads? I can’t help thinking about Käthe Kollwitz, another German artist working at the same time who used similar strategies and graphic techniques. The emotional charge in Hahn's image is undeniable, a dialogue between artist and viewer that transcends time. There is a playful ambiguity that keeps us guessing, even now.