Golgotha I 1914

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this etching, Golgotha I, sometime in the early 20th century. You can see how the stark contrast comes from these deeply bitten lines, a real wrestling match with the copper plate. Looking closely, notice the mass of lines in the foreground. It almost feels like a curtain, doesn't it? It's as though we're peeking into this biblical scene through a dark veil. Your eye travels up to the cross where Christ is, but that foreground keeps pulling you back, doesn't it? Schelfhout seems like he might have been looking at the work of artists like Käthe Kollwitz. Both had this knack for turning personal suffering into these monumental images. It's not just about the religious story; it’s about human pain, etched right into the surface of the world. Art, you know, it’s not just about seeing; it's about feeling, too.