Worgplaat 1903

Albert Hahn made this drawing, Worgplaat, sometime around 1903. It’s like he’s digging into the page with these scratchy, urgent marks. There's no room to breathe, no space for a calm thought. You can see his process right there on the paper. The whole thing is worked over, the marks are so dense. It makes you feel almost claustrophobic. The artist is using the medium, maybe charcoal or ink, to suggest something ominous. All of these textures and gradations create a kind of emotional intensity. Look at the way the lines around the central figures become more frantic, like a visual scream. It reminds me a little of Käthe Kollwitz, how she used printmaking to explore these really intense social and political themes. Art's not about pretty pictures; it's about wrestling with the world, you know?