Standing Figure 1954

Max Weber created this standing figure in ink on paper. It’s a small work, just a few inches in height. The colors are stark: blacks and browns. The figure is trapped within a dark, architectural form – like an obelisk or even a tombstone. I imagine Weber’s hand moving quickly, decisively, the ink bleeding slightly into the paper. What was he thinking as he made this? Was he wrestling with the weight of history, the burden of representation? I love how the ink pools and gathers, creating texture and depth. Look at that stroke right there – how it defines the curve of the figure’s back. The ink is applied thinly in some areas and thickly in others. This is a painter thinking sculpturally. Weber was part of a generation of artists who were grappling with new ways of seeing, of representing the world around them. He was in conversation with Picasso, Matisse, and others, pushing the boundaries of what painting could be. And, of course, they were all in dialogue with artists who came before them. It’s one big, ongoing conversation.