Seated Woman 1919 - 1920

Max Weber’s woodcut, *Seated Woman*, is a small work with simple means, but somehow it’s full of feeling. The reddish-brown ink on the paper gives it a warmth that’s really inviting. I love how the woodcut method makes everything so direct, you see the marks, the grain, the process of the making right there on the surface. The shapes are chunky and simplified. Look at how he renders the woman’s hands and face, so reduced but still so expressive! There is something about the texture and colour, and that direct carving, that reminds me of German Expressionist woodcuts. You can almost feel the artist carving into the wood. It makes me think about how we simplify things to get to the core of what really matters. The pose is almost iconic, universal. It’s like Weber is tapping into something ancient and timeless. Like a conversation with art history.