Untitled
1930
ink
From the collection of Museum of Modern Art
1930
ink
From the collection of Museum of Modern Art
You see a rough, shadowy figure kneeling over a low mound of earth, hands pressed together like they’re praying or holding something tight. Barlach carved this image in 1930, right as the Nazis started calling his work “degenerate.” The same hands that drew this quiet scene were soon banned from showing art in public. The lithograph’s grainy lines make the moment feel urgent, almost like a quick sketch you’d hide in a drawer. To see how other artists used simple marks to say big things, look up the technique of lithography.
