The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Man on a Plain (Self-portrait) (Mann in der Ebene [Selbstbildnis])

Man on a Plain (Self-portrait) (Mann in der Ebene [Selbstbildnis])

1917
(German, 1883–1970)
Germany
woodcut on wove paper
Image: 37.8 x 28.3 cm (14 7/8 x 11 1/8 in.); Sheet: 70 x 55.9 cm (27 9/16 x 22 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Davis in memory of Harvey Buchanan and Penelope Draper Buchanan 2016.598
© Artists Right Society (ARS), New York
Catalogue raisonné: Dube 305, state II/II [state IIA, outside the edition of 40]
Location: not on view

Description

Erich Heckel made this woodcut while he was working as a wartime ambulance driver in Ostend, Belgium; it portrays his own perception of the oppressiveness of war. Avoiding overt signs of the conflict, Heckel instead depicted himself on the verge of despair, his hands clasped to his head. The jagged lines of the sky relay the weight of the world. He used a gouged woodblock to create a landscape full of movement yet desolate, one that offers no escape from the suffering.
  • Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).
  • {{cite web|title=Man on a Plain (Self-portrait) (Mann in der Ebene [Selbstbildnis])|url=false|author=Erich Heckel|year=1917|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2016.598