Hoofd van een vrouw 1912

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this "Head of a Woman" with etching. It's a process heavy on mark-making. I find myself drawn to the way Schelfhout simplifies the face into these almost geometric forms. It's like he's exploring the underlying structure, the bones beneath the skin. There's a kind of Cubist sensibility at play here, maybe a touch of Picasso sneaking in, even though it's rendered with this delicate, almost tentative line. The vertical lines create a sense of volume while flattening the image, a real sleight of hand. It's interesting how the severity of the lines contrasts with the softness of the subject. This piece reminds me a bit of some of the German Expressionist printmakers, like Kirchner, with their raw, unflinching approach to portraiture. Art's this ongoing conversation, isn't it? Each artist responding to and riffing off those who came before, a continuous dance of seeing and re-seeing.