The mass-produced weaponry of WW1 not only caused the deaths of many, but also annihilated the land and the psyche of the survivors. Amongst the industrial-scale slaughter, a German artist serving as a medic bore witness to the utter chaos and desolation through his printmaking; however, the war took its toll on the artist’s own psyche, causing him to suffer a mental breakdown.<sup>1</sup><br><br>Max Beckmann, previously a traditionalist, developed a raw and expressive style during the war. He was driven to express truth through his art, inspired by his interest in objectivity and existentialism.<sup>2</sup> Although Beckmann typically painted, it was his prints that truly captured the German wartime mindset through their crude and erratic style.<br><br>Beckmann favoured the drypoint technique, in which the image is drawn onto a plate using a hard-point “needle”; this technique allowed Beckmann to work quickly to capture his volatile environment. With printing, each incision produces a sense of directness and immediacy. Beckmann’s lines became aggressive, erratic, and dense to demonstrate a state of chaos and mental unrest.<br><br><em>Irrenhaus</em> (Madhouse) (1918) is typical of the claustrophobic compositions favoured by Beckmann at the time. Silent figures are crammed into a small space, their faces twisted into grotesque mask-like expressions of torment. The caricatured figures and rough lines convey emotion with brutal honesty, reflecting Beckmann’s own internal trauma. <br><br>Beckmann's madhouse is a compelling metaphor for the descent into madness of the world around him. The mechanised destruction of the environment and its effects on society combines with his personal torment to produce a form of realism that reveals the “mystery of our existence”.<sup>3</sup><br>