Steigendes Pferd mit Reiter 1915

Curator: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's 1915 print, "Steigendes Pferd mit Reiter," a work rendered through the labor-intensive process of woodcut, arrests our gaze. Its stark contrasts, the raw textures—it speaks volumes about its era. Editor: My first impression is raw power, contained chaos. That horse isn't just rising, it's exploding upward. And the rider, clinging on, seems both terrified and thrilled. It really captures something about living on the edge, doesn't it? Curator: Absolutely. Kirchner, during this period, grappled profoundly with the social upheaval and personal anxieties ignited by World War I. A woodcut is not a fast process, it demands a lot of precision, a steady hand, so maybe it's an interesting contrast between the war time and a desire of control by the artist. Editor: The roughness of the medium definitely contributes to that feeling. You can almost feel the physical effort, the artist wrestling with the wood to create these forms. It reminds me of raw emotions needing to be violently freed. Curator: Woodcut prints democratized art. Multiple impressions allowed broader access, engaging a wider audience beyond the elite circles usually associated with "fine art." Its accessible price range permitted its popular consumption at the time. Editor: And that high-contrast black and white, it's almost screaming. There’s a graphic intensity here that foreshadows some of the later poster art. This wasn’t just art for art's sake, but art with a visceral message, aimed at stirring the soul, right? Curator: Precisely, its materiality allowed a broader reception by a public newly confronted by modern war and its societal impact. In a time of upheaval, the readibility of that support contributed to popular comprehension of art's intentions. Editor: Looking at it again, that rearing horse also seems to embody a primal scream against a world gone mad. Maybe it's reaching towards something—escape, hope, anything beyond the immediate chaos. What do you think, Curator? Curator: The act of "reaching," is also suggested by the economical material practice by the artist, that reclaims a former, traditional media, into the production of artworks with immediate popular impact. Editor: A primal scream rendered through wood; very neat. Curator: A reflection, a historical footprint.