Männerporträt 1910

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this portrait using stark, gestural marks in black ink. I imagine Kirchner hunched over this drawing, urgently trying to capture a likeness. The ink bleeds slightly into the paper, like the image is still emerging. There’s a nervous energy in the looping lines of the hair, and the way the eye is obscured by shadow. It reminds me a little of German Expressionist woodcuts, with their rough, angular forms. It’s fascinating how much information is conveyed with so few strokes. The bold outline of the nose and chin gives the face a strong profile, but the details are left to our imagination. Maybe that’s what Kirchner wanted – not a perfect representation, but a feeling, an impression. It shows how one artist can influence another across time – you can see echoes of Kirchner in the work of later artists. Ultimately, painting is about looking, feeling, and making marks that speak to something deep inside us.