Untitled (Blatt VIII) 1922

Hans Brass made this untitled print in 1922, most likely using an etching technique. The blacks are rich, built up by countless tiny lines scratched into the plate. I imagine Brass hunched over the metal, driven by a vision, a desire to conjure these looming figures. There's something haunting about their presence, a sense of being trapped in a web of shadows. Those angular shapes surrounding them feel oppressive, almost like shards of glass. I wonder if Brass was channeling some inner turmoil, some feeling of being confined or threatened. Or maybe he was inspired by other artists who were grappling with similar themes of alienation and anxiety. Painting and printmaking, they're all about conversations across time. One artist sees something in another's work and answers it with their own. It’s an ongoing exchange, inspiring creativity through generations. These figures may be dark, but they show that Brass was part of something bigger, a collective effort to make sense of the human condition, in all its beauty and mess.