Jakobs kamp med englen 1905

Oluf Hartmann created this small etching, "Jacob Wrestling with the Angel," sometime around the turn of the century. Just imagine him, bent over the plate, using needles and acid to bite those marks into the metal. This isn’t just a picture; it’s a record of a physical act. See how the dark, velvety shadows push forward? Hartmann coaxes an entire universe out of black ink. You can feel the struggle, the desperation in Jacob’s embrace. What a psychological battle—a dark night of the soul made visible! It’s like he’s saying, "Here, look at this thing I wrestled into being." Hartmann didn’t have long; he died very young. Perhaps the intensity in his work speaks to a life lived urgently? He reminds us that artists don’t just make; they converse with each other across time, in a continuous act of inspiration.