Karikaturaal gezicht Possibly 1923

Erich Wichmann made this caricature of a face, using charcoal, in 1923. It’s as if the face emerges from a dream, or maybe a nightmare. It's smudgy, with dark marks that create hollowed eyes and a kind of drooping mouth. I can imagine Wichmann working quickly, almost desperately, to capture a fleeting image. Maybe he saw this face in a crowd, or maybe it was a reflection of his own inner turmoil. The sketch feels raw, like a direct transmission of feeling. Wichmann’s mark-making reminds me of other artists working in the early 20th century, like Munch or Beckmann, who were also grappling with the anxieties of modern life. You can see how artists are in an ongoing conversation across time, responding to each other’s marks and ideas. For me, this drawing is a reminder that art is a way of processing the world, and that sometimes the most powerful statements are the ones that embrace ambiguity and uncertainty.