Max Slevogt 1917

Here's a portrait, "Max Slevogt", done by Emil Orlik. Looking at the etching lines, I can imagine Orlik, bent over a metal plate, needling and biting, the acid hissing, trying to capture his sitter, another artist, at age fifty. I wonder what it was like for Orlik to capture Slevogt's likeness, what they talked about. As an artist, did Slevogt sit still, or did he fidget, offer suggestions? The sharp lines around the spectacles convey a certain intensity, a focus, but I see a softness too. Maybe Orlik saw something of himself in Slevogt. This piece makes me think of other artist portraits, the ways we try to capture each other, to see something of ourselves reflected back. Painting or printmaking, it’s all part of this ongoing dialogue. We are all in conversation, across time.