Woman Seated in a Cottage 1926

Solomon Borisovich Judovin made this woodcut, “Woman Seated in a Cottage,” in 1924, and what strikes me first is the high contrast. The black ink against the white paper feels stark, somehow raw and immediate. The textures are amazing: look at the way the lines define the woman’s clothing, each stroke seemingly carved with a decisive hand. See how the lines converge to create shadows? It’s almost sculptural, as though Judovin chipped away at the wood to reveal this scene. Then there's that incredible clock on the wall, it really gives a sense of the woman being in that cottage, as well as of time passing. I think of Käthe Kollwitz, who knew a thing or two about the expressive power of the woodcut. Like Kollwitz, Judovin finds a way to convey deep feeling through the simplest of means. It’s a reminder that art isn’t always about complexity or detail; sometimes, it’s the boldest, most straightforward gestures that speak the loudest.