The Way Home (Der Nachhausweg) 1919

Max Beckmann made this drawing, The Way Home, with pencil on paper and it’s full of jagged, nervous lines, like the city itself is on edge. There's a real tension in the way the marks seem to scratch and bite at the surface. Look how Beckmann uses line to create these angular figures, almost like fractured reflections. See the way the hatching builds up shadows, giving weight to these characters and their surroundings. The dog in the foreground seems to snarl and strain towards an unseen destination. There is a clear push and pull between inside and outside. It reminds me a little of Otto Dix, with that same kind of Weimar-era cynicism. Ultimately, Beckmann's drawing embraces the unresolved, reminding us that art isn't about answers, but about wrestling with the questions.