Das Paar 1941

This print, called Das Paar, was made by Imre Reiner in 1941. Look at the bold lines, how they seem to carve out the figures. I wonder if Reiner was thinking about woodcuts when he made this? Imagine him, maybe in his studio, the scratch of the pen against the paper. What kind of ink did he use, I wonder? See how the two figures almost melt into one another. Their presence feels so immediate. There’s a sense of intimacy here, but also distance – are they really together? Or is it just a trick of the eye? The artist uses a complex web of lines to give form to the figures, and the absence of colour creates a sense of timelessness. It puts me in mind of other artists grappling with similar themes of identity and connection like Kirchner or Heckel. It reminds us that artists are constantly in conversation, borrowing and building on each other’s ideas, pushing the boundaries of what art can be.