Mountain Landscape 1924

Erich Heckel made this print of a mountain landscape, and I can see him working, the concentration on his face. I imagine him inking the plate, wiping it back, leaving just enough to catch the light. The peaks are jagged, almost violent, but there's also a softness in the way he renders the slopes. The little cluster of houses nestled at the bottom feels vulnerable. I get a sense of nature's indifference, which is a running theme in German Expressionism; a feeling many artists were playing with. Think of Kirchner's street scenes and the unease they trigger. That stark contrast between the dark lines and the white paper underneath, that’s where the energy is. The mountain isn’t just a mountain, it's a stand-in for something bigger. It’s like Heckel is in conversation with other artists, wrestling with how to capture feeling, how to make a mark that speaks volumes.