Seminaristen 1921

Editor: Today we’re looking at Bernhard Kretzschmar's 1921 etching, "Seminaristen." It's definitely got a haunting mood about it— the figures are so stylized and almost grotesque. What do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: Haunting is the word! It’s as if Kretzschmar pulled these characters right out of a German Expressionist nightmare. They have this raw, unsettling energy. Notice how the figures seem almost trapped in their own world. Makes you wonder what's eating at them, doesn’t it? I mean, look at the eyes – wild, knowing. This was a turbulent time, and art often becomes a pressure valve for societal anxieties, do you agree? Editor: Absolutely, their faces show so much more than they say, but who were those Seminaristen anyway? Curator: “Seminaristen”, means something akin to 'seminarians', implying students or trainees. Consider the setting and the distorted portrayal: it is not necessarily the actual people he is trying to convey, but how society perhaps viewed, or even treated, those in training. See how everything seems to push in on them? What do you take away from that squeeze? Editor: Maybe a feeling of confinement, like the future is already set for them? And the others outside, the bystanders almost watching like the ones in the windows… I guess that feeds that stifled atmosphere even more. Curator: Precisely! It is like all eyes are on them as if they’re trapped. That is the true mastery and horror, captured forever, that it suggests those pressures never truly leave you! Editor: This definitely shifts my whole perspective on the artwork. Thank you! Curator: Glad to share! Keep that keen eye, and never stop digging deeper!