Man en vrouw leunen uit het raam en kijken uit over straat 1918 - 1919

Max Beckmann scratched this print of a man and woman leaning out of a window, looking out over a street. I wonder what it was like for Beckmann to draw this scene. The marks are so scratchy and loose, yet he is trying to capture something so tight, like the feeling of being stuck inside and looking out at the world. There is this incredible tension between the inside and the outside, the claustrophobia and the vastness of what lies beyond. The lines are like a spider web connecting the figures to the buildings, the sky, and the street below. Look at how he creates a sense of depth with the shading, almost like a stage set. I bet he thought a lot about Edvard Munch, another great artist.