Der Kunstleratelier (Group around a table) 1914

Ludwig Meidner created this etching, titled "Group around a table," in 1917. Notice the abundance of bottles and vessels, signaling convivial excess. The gathering around the table speaks to fellowship, yet the grotesque caricatures induce a feeling of unease, don't they? Consider how the motif of communal dining appears in earlier artworks. Recall Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper," where the shared meal becomes a moment of profound spiritual reckoning. But here, the atmosphere is far from sacred; it's charged with a nervous energy that reveals the anxieties of its time. The disfigured faces echo images of demons and grotesque masks from the Middle Ages, which served as cathartic representations of repressed fears. Through his jarring portrayal, Meidner confronts us with a mirror reflecting the collective subconscious, grappling with the demons of a society on the brink. The symbols resurface, evolved to convey the raw emotion of a modern world in turmoil.