Mother and Child 19th-20th century

Editor: This is Wilhelm Lehmbruck's "Mother and Child." It's a pencil and crayon drawing. It seems so simple, almost unfinished, but the composition is quite striking in its starkness. What do you see in the lines and forms used here? Curator: The composition relies heavily on the contrast between positive and negative space. Observe how the tentative lines delineate the figures, yet the surrounding void amplifies their vulnerability. The linearity speaks to a deliberate reduction, almost an abstraction, of the maternal subject. Editor: So, it's less about the figures themselves and more about how they interact with the space around them? Curator: Precisely. The interplay reveals a tension between presence and absence. Did the artist attempt to use semiotics in his representation of figures? Editor: I hadn't considered that, it’s a very powerful effect to think about. Thanks! Curator: Indeed. The essence of form supersedes representational accuracy here.