Männerbildnis

Erich Heckel's Männerbildnis is an icon of German Expressionism and an emblematic image of angst and trauma in the aftermath of war. In the catalogue of the German Expressionist prints from the Specks Collection, Reinhold Heller and Frank C. Lewis perfectly summarise the impact and context of this haunting portrait: 'Frequently identified as one of the most striking and powerful images of German Expressionism and of twentieth century graphics in general, Portrait of a Man is readily seen to be a self-portrait of Heckel. Created during the months after World War I ended, as Germany suffered extreme political unrest and uncertainty and as the defeated nation continued to feel the effects of a British blockade that prevented food supplies from reaching the hungering population, the extremely gaunt features of Heckel's face, his contemplative or melancholy pose with its sense of simultaneous expectation and resignation, appears as manifestations of an existential and physical malaise which was national as well as personal.' (Heller, p. 112)

The present impression is a fine example of this famous woodcut, from the small, unnumbered edition published around 1920-21 by I.B. Neumann. Ebner and Gabelmann's census of impressions of this print includes only fifteen examples from this edition, produced by the printer Fritz Voigt in Berlin. Voigt followed the artist's own method of applying the colours to the two blocks- one for the black lines, one for the colour planes- and printing them by hand.

In the present impression, the colours are very transparent and brushed loosely onto the colour block. The brushwork is clearly visible and the moisture of the coloured inks has led to a slight blurring of the black outlines. The overall effect is very painterly and spontaneous- a deliberately imperfect feel both Heckel and Voigt tried to maintain- making each example essentially a unique object.