Portrait Of Wassily Kandinsky 1906

This is Gabriele Munter's portrait of Wassily Kandinsky, and it's a woodcut, so we are looking at the kind of directness that comes from carving, not drawing. The overall impression is graphic, but the surface has all these tonal variations, almost like watercolour washes. The black ink of Kandinsky's figure is actually quite mottled when you get up close, and this creates a sense of texture, of the ink being pulled across the paper. Then look at the background, and you will see how the colours are applied with the same method. The way the colours are divided into blocks, and the rough quality of the print, brings to mind Japanese woodblock prints, or even the bold simplicity of folk art. The work feels spontaneous, personal, like a direct record of the artist's encounter with her subject. I feel like I'm seeing a portrait that captures something beyond appearances – it's as if the woodcut brings you into the subject's inner world. It reminds me of Kirchner in some ways, that same intensity, that same dedication to process. It's a beautiful piece.