Susanna and the Elders 1916 - 1917

Christian Rohlfs made this woodcut print of Susanna and the Elders, and it's like, when was this even made? It's a dramatic scene done with such stark contrast. I imagine Rohlfs wrestling with the woodblock, carving out these figures with deliberate cuts. Look at how the dark, dense lines create a sense of enclosure and tension, emphasizing the vulnerability of Susanna. There's a real physical presence in this print. The faces of the elders leer out with such grotesque intensity. Think about Rohlfs’s choices in that moment of creation, deciding where to leave the wood untouched, letting the stark white of the paper define Susanna’s form against the ominous shadows. You can almost feel the weight of the narrative bearing down on her. There's a connection here to other expressionist printmakers, like Kirchner or Heckel, who were also exploring these raw, emotional states through the medium of woodcut. This piece is a testament to the power of simplicity and the intensity of human experience.