Dood kind wordt begraven Possibly 1919

Ernst Barlach made this stark woodcut print, Dood kind wordt begraven, which translates to Dead Child Buried, using what looks like a deliberate, rough carving technique. The contrast in this work is striking; it's all blacks and whites, creating these intense, angular shapes. Look at the way the figure bends over the child, each line seems to carry weight. It’s as if Barlach is digging into the wood, wrestling with the image. This physicality reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, another German artist who wasn’t afraid to confront difficult subjects, or even Edvard Munch. Like them, Barlach shows how stark simplicity can amplify emotional impact. It's this tension between grief and the stark way it's represented that makes the work so powerful. It feels like a conversation between sorrow and the unyielding nature of loss.