Der Pfeifer 1948

Imre Reiner made this print, Der Pfeifer, using etching, in 1948. You can really see the hand in it! The lines are scratchy and there’s a real sense of searching, like the artist is thinking through the image as he works. I’m drawn to the way Reiner uses line to create texture and depth. See how the dense, cross-hatched lines around the piper’s face create a sense of shadow and volume? Then, notice how the lines become sparser and more delicate in the background, suggesting a hazy, undefined space. There's a figure almost hidden behind the main character, like a ghost. For me, it’s like the print is a portal into Reiner’s mind – a space where images and ideas collide and coalesce. The angularity of the forms, like the hands, remind me a little of Beckmann, especially his prints, but with Reiner, there’s something more raw, more vulnerable in the mark-making. It feels like he’s wrestling with the medium, pushing it to its limits, and in the process, revealing something deeply personal.