Wife of Professor Schaxel 1917 - 1918

Editor: Here we have Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's "Wife of Professor Schaxel", created around 1917-1918. It's a woodcut print, and I have to say, it feels quite chaotic. What stands out to you most in this piece? Curator: Oh, Kirchner! This woodcut has such raw emotion. Look at how the stark black lines carve out the professor's wife, almost violently. Don't you think that chaos echoes the inner turmoil Kirchner experienced during that time, living through World War I? It is as if the image mirrors both the subject and artist fracturing beneath societal pressures. Tell me, what emotional weight do those sharp angles give to the composition? Editor: It feels very jarring and immediate. Not exactly flattering. But you mentioned turmoil – so this isn't simply a portrait then, but something more revealing? Curator: Exactly! It's expressionism in its purest form. He’s using her likeness to convey a broader psychological landscape, anxieties bubbling under the surface, right? Each jagged line, each harsh contrast, contributes to a sense of unease, pushing past mere representation into raw emotional exposure. The woman's expression… what do you see there? Editor: Now that you mention it, there's sadness but also maybe a hint of defiance, even trapped as she seems to be within these heavy lines. I hadn’t considered that tension. Curator: Precisely! It's that tension that makes it sing. What's so cool is how Kirchner, through the physical act of carving the wood, translated internal feeling. It really makes you wonder, doesn't it, about what's hidden behind the faces we encounter. Editor: Definitely makes you rethink portraiture and what an artist can express using, seemingly, so little! Thanks!