Interieur met groep groteske figuren 1918 - 1919

This etching by Max Beckmann, *Interieur met groep groteske figuren,* presents a room full of grotesque figures depicted with a network of lines. Looking at it, I can imagine Beckmann bending over a plate, scratching into it, incising these dark lines, building up these strange characters. He repeats, overlaps, and makes the scene look like a crowded and claustrophobic interior. There is a lot of trauma and drama packed into this image. It reminds me of James Ensor and the German Expressionists of the early 20th century, where they used distortion and exaggeration to convey intense emotional states. Notice the density of the lines around the figures' faces, giving them a haunting and almost nightmarish quality. The figures seem trapped, both by their circumstances and within the frame of the print. It’s like a weird party that you don’t want to be at, but you can’t look away. Beckmann and his contemporaries show us that art isn't just about what we see, but also about what we feel and experience. We all inspire each other to see things in new ways, through our own lens.