Standing Female Figure 1951 - 1952

This is Max Weber's ‘Standing Female Figure,’ a woodcut print. It's one of those images that makes you wonder, what was it like to be Weber, carving away at that block? I can imagine him working back and forth, trying to get the balance between the figure and its surroundings. The shapes are kind of blocky and angular, a far cry from a realistic rendering. The negative space becomes just as important as the figure itself. I wonder if he was thinking about Cubism, which was all the rage in the art world at the time? You can sense the figure emerging, almost fighting its way out of the wood, asserting itself with these strong, confident lines. Weber wasn't alone in this kind of exploration; artists like Gauguin were doing woodcuts too, also digging into the expressive power of the medium. Artists are always in conversation, borrowing and building on each other's ideas, it’s a great thing.