Madonna met kind tegen wang 1919

Else Berg’s ‘Madonna met kind tegen wang’ is an undated woodcut artwork that uses black ink on paper to render a mother and child portrait. I love the expressive confidence in this print! I can imagine Berg pressing the cutting tools into the wood block, channeling all of her energy into those deliberate marks. The negative space carved out around the figures activates the composition and enhances the tonal contrasts. It’s such a powerful image, not overly sentimental, but full of emotion. The mother's face and the child's are close together, creating a feeling of intimacy. I like the patterning on the mother’s sleeve—the x-shapes, dashes, and curves. Prints like these show us that the artist is in conversation with other graphic designers, illustrators, and painters. It’s a visual call and response across time. It demonstrates how art is fundamentally ambiguous, and how it’s okay for there to be multiple interpretations.