Matthew McLendon is looking at one of his favorite prints in The Fralin Museum of Art’s collection. It’s a woodcut by the German Expressionist artist, Erich Heckel. The title of the print is Reading Aloud (Beim Vorlesen) and it was made in 1914. We know who the figures are. The woman, right hand resting under her chin, elbow on the table, is Erich Heckel’s companion and later wife, the dancer Sidi Riha. She sits shoulder to shoulder with art historian Walter Kasebach, a great advocate for the Die Brücke Artists.

Erich Heckel German, 1883-1970 Reading Aloud (Beim Vorlesen), 1914 Woodcut on heavy, gray toned Japanese paper, 11 3/4 x 7 7/8 in. (29.8 x 20 cm) Museum purchase with the Curriculum Support Fund, 2001.14.2 © 2015 Erich Heckel / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst