Figuur met geopende mond 1890 - 1931

Curator: What a visceral piece, wouldn't you say? The woodcut titled "Figuur met geopende mond" or "Figure with Open Mouth" by Maurits de Groot. The Rijksmuseum places its creation sometime between 1890 and 1931. It’s a striking example of early Expressionist printmaking. Editor: "Visceral" is right. It's all mouth, eyes, angst… Feels like Munch's "The Scream" just...deconstructed, and crammed into a much smaller space. You can almost hear the silent yell. Gives you the chills, doesn’t it? Curator: Absolutely! Expressionism aimed to depict subjective emotions, and the stark contrast in the woodcut amplifies that feeling of raw emotion. Notice how de Groot employed those bold, unflinching lines to define the face. The open mouth motif itself is incredibly potent; traditionally, open mouths symbolize vulnerability, speech, or even a kind of primal scream as you suggest. This piece fits into the broader movement of German Expressionism that wrestled with alienation and the anxieties of modernity. Editor: The distortion is fantastic! Those exaggerated features practically leap off the paper. And is it me, or does the roughness of the woodgrain sort of...enhance the rawness? It isn’t a polished scream; it’s guttural, almost animalistic. There's such powerful immediacy in its roughness. Curator: Woodcut as a medium has a rich symbolic association with truth-telling and bearing witness, especially during this historical period. Think of Käthe Kollwitz’s woodcuts during World War I and its aftermath. So I'd suggest that beyond just personal anxiety, the gaping mouth can also be read as an outcry against a perceived social ill. Editor: Well, whatever it's railing against, it's hitting the mark. Looking at it makes me reflect how much we all hide and compress our own messy feelings, every day. It's a handy reminder that it’s okay to unleash our personal… "inner woodcut," so to speak. Curator: It certainly is a resonant visual cry. In this concentrated burst of energy and emotion, de Groot really offers us a chance to access, or even reflect on, the unspoken anguishes we often conceal beneath the surface. Editor: I'll say. Art as primal therapy, maybe? Makes you want to find your own block of wood and just... wail.