Woman Seated at Table 1919 - 1920

Max Weber made this woodcut print, titled "Woman Seated at Table," and what strikes me is how he embraced the essential qualities of the medium. The textures, the way the tool digs in and gouges out material, all feel very present. The colour palette is limited but evocative, like a memory tinged with sepia tones. Look at the woman’s face; it’s so simplified, almost mask-like. The artist uses these bold lines to define her features. There's something so direct about the way the image is constructed. You can almost feel the artist’s hand at work, carving into the wood, making deliberate choices about what to include and what to leave out. Weber was part of this incredible moment in American art, absorbing ideas from Europe and then twisting them into something new. And there’s a real connection to artists like the German Expressionists, who also used woodcuts to convey powerful emotions with incredible simplicity. It's art as conversation across time and place.