Pietá 1914

Oskar Kokoschka made this print, Pietá, in the early 20th century. Look at the frantic energy of the marks! It’s like he’s trying to capture something that’s constantly moving, like a feeling or a memory. The texture here is all in the lines, scratches really, that build up the figures. It's brown ink on paper, so it’s not like you can run your hands over globs of paint, but you can almost feel the weight of the body being held. Notice the way the lines around the head are darker and more intense? It’s a moment of heightened emotion. You can see how each line adds to the overall feeling of sorrow. Kokoschka's expressionistic style reminds me a bit of Egon Schiele. Like Schiele, he wasn't afraid to show the raw, unfiltered intensity of human experience. In the end, art isn’t about giving us easy answers. It’s about wrestling with the big questions and inviting us to join the conversation.