Madchen (girl) 1921

Walter Gramatté made this etching, Madchen, sometime in the 1920s. Look at the quick, thin lines that form the young girl's face, hair, and hands, and the spiky lines in the background. I can imagine Gramatté hunched over the plate, acid fumes in his face, as he scratched away to create the image, wiping away the residue, and starting again. It's a process of give and take, and a dance between intention and accident. The jagged lines surrounding the girl create a sense of unease, as if she's trapped or vulnerable. I am reminded of Käthe Kollwitz, also working in Germany at this time, who used etching to explore the anxieties of poverty and war. Etching itself lends a certain quality to the line, a fineness and delicacy, but here, also a sense of raw, nervous energy. It's a conversation across time, each artist building on the other's discoveries, pushing the boundaries of what's possible.