Raskolnikoff II Possibly 1919

Curator: Max Burchartz’s print, possibly from 1919, titled "Raskolnikoff II.” What jumps out at you? Editor: Angst. Pure, unadulterated angst. It's all frantic lines and distorted features; like a soul turned inside out. Curator: It's striking, isn’t it? The work is an ink drawing rendered as a print. The title references Dostoevsky’s "Crime and Punishment," of course. Editor: Ah, that explains it. The haunted look, the feeling of being trapped – the stark blacks evoking shadow and dread. Raskolnikov’s guilt made manifest. Curator: Burchartz captures the psychological turmoil beautifully. Look at how he uses these sharp, angular lines. What symbols do you detect? Editor: Beyond the figure itself – I see the suggestion of confinement, bars almost, pressing in. His raised hand is either pleading or warding something off. Also, there is an overturned container; a fallen mask reflecting abandonment. Is it any wonder that German Expressionism has become so ingrained? It continues to embody those raw postwar anxieties and still evokes so many modern horrors. Curator: I see it, yes. He’s even got a small skull floating where a coat button would normally be; and, yes, it fits into that current of expressionism exploring the fracturing of the self. The artist channels the character’s inner chaos, visualizing guilt, and moral conflict. It becomes universal! Editor: It certainly does. To encounter that level of human emotion displayed through ink - with all its imperfections - it's an experience. The emotional resonance of “Raskolnikoff II” remains unsettling, and strangely relevant, over a century later. Curator: Precisely. It’s a reminder of how art can externalize those hidden landscapes of the mind, letting us examine them from a safe distance… perhaps learning a little more about ourselves along the way.