Large Primitive Head in Profile 1920 - 1921

Max Weber made this 'Large Primitive Head in Profile' with a woodcut, and the way he's used the woodgrain is so key. It's not just a picture, it's about the act of carving and printing. I love how the textures in the wood create this sense of depth and age, like we're looking at an ancient artifact. See that gray area at the bottom? The way it’s rough and almost crumbling? It reminds me of geological strata, like layers of time pressing down on the figure. And the figure itself—those rough edges, the way the eye is both there and not there—it’s all about embracing imperfection. Weber seems to be having a conversation with artists like Gauguin who were looking to non-Western art for inspiration. But where Gauguin was after an idea of the "primitive," Weber seems more interested in the primitive as a way of working. It’s like he’s saying, let’s get back to basics, back to the physicality of art-making. It’s a reminder that art is always an ongoing dialogue.