Samples from the Illustration sketchbook


















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Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - printmaking report

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Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker. He volunteered for army service in WW1 but soon suffered a breakdown and was discharged. In 1933 his work was branded degenerate by the Nazis and in 1937 over 600 of his works were sold or destroyed. He committed suicide in 1938. I have selected two of his woodcuts of portraits just so I could consider how portraits could be done in linocuts instead of etching. Clearly they have a lot fewer lines and, in my mind, they look less realistic. The second one looks a bit like Frankenstein! The black and white is striking however I think an etching has a bigger potential to be more atmospheric. The woodcuts don't capture the subtleties of the face so well and you would need to hope the face had a few stand out features which could help the viewer identify it as the sitter. I prefer the first print as it is less black and white as the lines and shapes are smaller, the second one is too "chunky...
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