Brunnen (Fountain) 1960

Anton Lehmden made this etching called "Brunnen" – that's "Fountain" in German – at some point in his career, we're not quite sure when. I love how he seems to have surrendered to the process. It feels like he let the acid do its thing, allowing for chance and accident. Up close, you can see the plate has this incredibly rich, almost furry texture, achieved through the etching process. Look at how the figure emerges from this chaos, reclining as if rising from the depths of the unconscious. The lines are almost frenetic, a tangled web that somehow coalesces into a recognizable form. The figure’s expression is enigmatic, a mix of ecstasy and agony. I'm reminded of Goya's darker prints, where the line becomes a vehicle for expressing the raw, unfiltered aspects of human experience. In the end, it is the relationship between the figure and the swirling landscape that I find most evocative, a testament to art’s capacity to embrace ambiguity.