Wolf Przygode 1918

Curator: Here we have Walter Gramatté's “Wolf Przygode,” an oil painting dating from 1918. Editor: It’s…intense. The face is almost confrontational, illuminated against that oppressive darkness. It makes me slightly uneasy. Curator: The Expressionist style lends itself to that heightened emotional state. Note the almost claw-like hands, brought together in a way that could suggest either prayer or… calculation. Editor: Look at that ring! Gold, prominently displayed. Was that something requested by the sitter, or a way for the artist to suggest something about status, perhaps about production and how Gramatté viewed society? Curator: A portrait can tell so many stories, can’t it? A ring, a gesture, the sharp planes of the face – all symbols contributing to the narrative. Gramatté’s self-portraits often wrestled with themes of existential struggle; to what extent does he identify with, or distance himself from, this Przygode? Editor: I'm drawn to the material contrast between the roughly worked face and the smooth, almost velvety black background. Was there a scarcity of pigments that determined Gramatté's use of tonality and expressive style? Or did this method emphasize labor or particular process? Curator: These contrasts create such drama. The Expressionists often looked inward, and here we have the sitter – or perhaps the artist's stand-in – peering out from an internal world, judged by harsh light and shadow. Editor: Absolutely. I find myself also contemplating the kind of labor involved in producing such intense portraits at this period of immense economic crisis and loss in Germany during and immediately following World War I. It forces me to consider who was commissioning or consuming artwork, and their motivations. Curator: Ultimately, this image remains potent through the way the symbolic aspects come together. A challenge stares back at us. Editor: A challenge wrought through conscious choices about medium and manufacturing in a complex world!