The Fifth Commandment 1938

Carl Hoeckner made this piece, The Fifth Commandment, as an etching. The cross-hatching and linear mark-making, it feels so deliberate and thought-out, like each line is placed with care, which I can really appreciate! Look at the way Hoeckner uses the etching lines to create different textures and values. See the dark, dense areas of the crowd contrasting with the lighter, almost glowing figure of the soldier in the center. The repetition of the soldiers and the guns really emphasizes the brutal reality of war, the marks acting almost like a relentless machine. The Fifth Commandment, thou shall not kill. It's interesting to think about how artists like Kathe Kollwitz, with her stark woodcuts about war, might have been on Hoeckner's mind at the time. Art is always a conversation, building on what came before, questioning, and pushing boundaries.