Katze (Cat) 1960

This is an etching called Katze – Cat – made by Anton Lehmden. Just imagine the scratching, the pressure, the labor of forcing the image into the plate. It looks like a cat who caught a bird. Maybe Lehmden was thinking about the cat's pleasure in the kill, and how that links to the violence of the world. The etching is so delicate, but it renders such a brutal scene. The fine lines almost caress the surface of the animals. How intimate it must feel to draw them this way. The wing is so detailed, it’s like he’s holding it in his hands. I wonder if Lehmden knew Käthe Kollwitz? I'm thinking of her etchings of war and death, and the way she combines horror and tenderness. Artists look to each other and find new ways to think and feel, creating an ongoing conversation across generations.