Karikaturale figuur met open mond 1923

This 'Karikaturale figuur met open mond' was made with pencil on paper by Erich Wichmann, seemingly in 1923. It's a head, a face, or maybe just a scribble that accidentally turned into a face. It’s all smudged charcoal, really simple, but somehow so expressive. I love how the mouth is just this dark, open space, like a cave. And the eyes, those little pinpricks, they seem to see right through you. The texture of the paper comes through, giving it this raw, unfinished feel. Wichmann wasn't trying to hide anything, he's showing us the process. It feels like he's wrestling with something, maybe with himself, or with the very act of making art. The marks are tentative, searching, but also confident in their awkwardness. It reminds me a little of some of Guston's later, more cartoonish heads. Both artists embrace this kind of raw, almost clumsy style, which is actually incredibly sophisticated. It’s like they’re saying, “Art doesn’t have to be perfect to be true.”