Sisyphus 1914

Max Klinger made this etching of Sisyphus at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. He presents us with this tiny world of dark and light, of struggle, and of spectatorship. Look at the way Klinger uses the etching technique, how he scratches into the plate to create an image out of tiny marks. The figures at the top of the image are finely rendered, while the body of Sisyphus seems almost smudged into existence. See how the figure blends into the rock he is trying to climb. The use of line here suggests that Klinger is interested in blurring the boundaries between the figure and the landscape, man and nature, effort and futility. This feels like a precursor to some of the symbolist art that was around at the time, maybe even a nod towards Munch's pained figures. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation with itself, trying to say something new, or perhaps just trying to say the same thing in a new way.