Dwarsdoorsnede van gebouw 1894 - 1933

Philipp Bauknecht made this woodcut, Dwarsdoorsnede van gebouw, at some point, and the stark contrast of black and white immediately grabs you. It’s like a stage set, each level a different act in a silent play. Look at how Bauknecht carved away at the wood, leaving these thick, graphic lines that define the figures and the architecture. The texture of the wood itself seems to push through, giving the whole piece a raw, almost primal feel. Those figures marching across the middle level? They're caught in this perpetual, cyclical motion, like shadows in Plato's cave. The more you look, the more the graphic quality of the carving feels reminiscent of Otto Dix. Both artists, in their own way, use a kind of brutal honesty to depict the world around them. There's an unsettling energy to this piece. It reminds me that art isn’t about answers, but about asking the right questions, and keeping the conversation going.