Knock Out, First Version (Le K.O. du noir (premiere version)) 1922

André Dunoyer de Segonzac made this print, "Knock Out, First Version," and what strikes me is its raw energy. It's all in the marks, see how they're etched, almost violently, into the plate? The texture is rough, immediate. Look at the boxer leaning over the ropes; his body's rendered with these quick, almost frantic lines, full of tension and movement. The fallen boxer becomes a dark mass, a shape defeated by the light. It reminds me of Kathe Kollwitz and her unflinching portrayals of human suffering, but here, there's a strange beauty in the struggle. The print’s all about contrast – light and shadow, victory and defeat. It’s that ambiguity, that raw, messy energy, that keeps me looking.