Dancer (Pair of Dancers) 1909

Max Pechstein made this print of two dancers with, I am guessing, wood blocks and ink, and some kind of printing press. The dancer in front is like a burst of energy! The ochre color of her body almost seems to vibrate, doesn’t it? I can just imagine Pechstein coaxing this image into being, carving the wood, inking it, and then, boom, printing it. You can see the influence of Die Brücke, the German Expressionist group Pechstein belonged to; their bold colors and interest in capturing raw, emotional experience. I get a sense of movement and rhythm, a real kind of physicality. It's almost like you can hear the music and feel the dancers' energy, right? When I look at this I think about Kirchner or Heckel, other artists working at the same time with similar ideas, each pushing the boundaries of expression. What a great conversation!