Alyosha the Boy (Book I: The History of a Family, facing p.14) 1949

Fritz Eichenberg made this illustration for Dostoevsky's 'The Brothers Karamazov' using wood engraving. It's like a dance of light and dark, isn’t it? The texture here is everything. Eichenberg isn't hiding his process; you can almost feel the knife carving into the wood. Notice how he uses these tiny, precise lines to create this whole mood. There's a really striking contrast between the deep shadows and the almost glowing highlights, especially in the light streaming in. This is how he shapes the emotional tone of the piece, creating this feeling of tenderness mixed with a kind of somber intensity. It reminds me of Kathe Kollwitz, who used printmaking to convey intense emotion. Both artists weren't afraid to get their hands dirty, embracing the physicality of their medium to tell stories that resonate deep within us. It shows you how art is always talking to art, across time, always changing but always in conversation.