Bradford Stairs 1932

Curator: Before us is Schomer Lichtner's 1932 woodcut, "Bradford Stairs." The stark blacks and whites immediately strike me. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: The two figures dominate the composition, but their passive postures—almost bored, leaning on the rail—hint at detachment and a sense of unseen burdens carried by the working class. I see social isolation. Curator: Notice how Lichtner manipulates the woodcut medium to emphasize texture. The parallel hatching creates tonal depth and a subtle interplay of light and shadow on the dresses of the figures in the foreground. This also builds up the atmospheric perspective in the city behind them, but overall I find it unsettling, with so much contrast between shadow and light. Editor: Precisely, this extreme chiaroscuro evokes the socio-political unrest and economic instability present in Europe during the interwar period. Look closely at how their clothing seems both tailored yet unglamorous, their faces unsmiling. It whispers stories of daily toil and lost possibilities against the city’s landscape. Curator: Indeed. If you observe how Lichtner angled the line work towards the right in the city view, there’s almost an allusion to some sense of dynamic force pressing against our central subjects, forcing us to question the space they occupy. Editor: Their gaze seems trapped—their presence, though powerful, feels stagnant in an unfair social structure. By using his stylistic cues, Lichtner uses this image to capture the essence of many women forced into subservient labor positions throughout history. Curator: This intense black and white rendering, full of contrasts, is visually arresting, and even though somewhat emotionally heavy, very elegantly executed, making us observe and analyze more fully than initially apparent. Editor: By amplifying the physical distance from subjects to viewer to city in this artwork, it echoes similar dynamics happening in reality.