Mountains in Winter 1919

Curator: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s woodcut, “Mountains in Winter,” created in 1919, is a powerful image. The contrasts are startling. Editor: Yes, the first impression is intense. The stark reds and blues create a dramatic tension. The whole piece seems charged with an almost palpable energy. Curator: The composition employs dynamic diagonals. Note how the lines of the mountains guide the eye, and how the sharp angles evoke the harshness of the winter landscape. It’s exemplary of German Expressionism. Editor: Thinking about the production of this work, creating such strong contrasts through woodcut seems deliberate. The process of carving the block itself mirrors the harsh conditions he is depicting. It feels less like rendering than confronting. Curator: Kirchner’s simplification of form, especially in the mountain range, is striking. He’s reduced the landscape to its barest essence, expressing a subjective experience rather than objective reality. Editor: Exactly. And considering that this piece was made shortly after his service in World War One, one must ask, how did the labour, its making, assist in articulating the psychological landscape, that very particular disquiet felt in postwar Europe. The material means became a release. Curator: I’m inclined to agree. The limited colour palette—that stark juxtaposition of red and blue, against the pale yellow—creates a sense of unease and isolation, furthering that exploration of mental state. Editor: So what’s left is, beyond form and intention, the pure feeling, or rather the making of feeling: the labour, the craft and that post-war ache given form. The physical demands of the printmaking became cathartic. Curator: That’s an interesting reading, thinking of catharsis in the printmaking itself. The graphic impact, its pure bold emotionality… that persists to this day. Editor: Indeed, a potent confluence of artistic skill, personal turmoil, and material process has converged to create something quite lasting.