Gezicht op de Potsdammer Platz 1891 - 1931

Ernst Pickardt etched this bustling Gezicht op de Potsdammer Platz with a drypoint needle, digging into the copper to create a burr for a velvety darkness. I imagine Pickardt standing on a balcony overlooking this lively square, squinting to see, then bent over the plate, pushing into it with the needle. The city scene comes to life in dense, scribbled lines, a mass of dark and light that somehow conjures a rainy urban day. Look at the way he captures the trams and the people, all rushing about, with such minimal means! It's like he's channeling the energy of the place directly through his hand. There is something about the immediacy of printmaking, the directness of mark-making, that feels so connected to the artist’s hand. You know, like how Picasso or Kirchner made prints that gave us another way of seeing the world. I wonder if Pickardt knew their work. Artists are always in conversation, after all, responding to each other across time.