Refugee Family c. 1939

Samuel Greenburg made this print titled ‘Refugee Family’ using strong contrasts, to capture the emotional intensity of his subject. The bold, graphic quality of the linocut technique, with its stark blacks and whites, lends itself well to expressing the rawness of human experience. Look at the way Greenburg carved out the faces, particularly the eyes, which seem to be pleading, almost desperate. The white lines aren’t just describing form; they’re like slashes of light, cutting through the darkness. I find myself drawn to the upper left corner, where the white marks almost seem to be pressing down, adding to the sense of enclosure and anxiety. The texture here isn’t just visual; it’s palpable. It reminds me a little of some of Kathe Kollwitz's woodcuts, with their similar themes of human suffering and their bold, uncompromising style. Art’s kind of like this ongoing conversation, where artists respond to each other across time, trying to make sense of the world in their own way. And, like life, art is open to interpretation; it welcomes different perspectives.