Deer 1909

Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel made this print of deer. It's hard to know when, but the way it's done makes me think it was a process of layering. You can see how the brown ink sits on the surface of the paper, with subtle textures from the block. The shapes are defined by these strong outlines, but within them there are further tonal variations, achieved through the way the ink has been applied. Look at the way that the bodies of the deer have been built up from solid forms which taper to finer lines and how that effects the overall rhythm of the composition. That little deer, in the lower right, it’s like the whole group is moving, and it's right there in the middle of everything. It's as though Jungnickel is making something very traditional but also capturing something new, like German Expressionism. It reminds me of Franz Marc's animal paintings, but much less colourful, and much more tonal, which is what makes it so good.