Weide XVIII 1921

This is 'Weide XVIII' by Ewald Mataré, a print made using linocut. The shapes are so strong! Look how he orchestrates a few simple colours, black, red, white, and grey-blue, playing them off each other. I’m drawn to the area where the red meets the black, in the middle. It's like a puzzle piece, interlocking to suggest a hulking beast. I can almost feel the pressure of the block against the paper, the way the ink bleeds just a little at the edges. I bet he enjoyed the physical act of carving the lino, letting the material guide him. It’s about gesture, about trusting your instincts and allowing for the unexpected. Mataré was a sculptor and printmaker, his work focuses on animals, often simplified to their essence. You might be reminded of Franz Marc, another German artist who, like Mataré, aimed to capture the spiritual essence of the animal world. Isn’t it interesting how different artists, working in different times and places, can be in dialogue with one another, even across decades?