Erich Wichman #6561 - Mask - 1926

Bronze mask by Erich Wichman, cast by Begeer, Utrecht, around 1926.

From about 1922 onwards, the mask became one of Wichman’s key themes. During a stay in Vienna, he was deeply impressed by Japanese art—specifically, the expressive Nō masks. He described how a Japanese mask seemed to look directly at him, leading him to rediscover the "human side" of the visual arts.

The faces he subsequently created are generally not traditional portraits; they are contorted, staring, grinning, or grotesque. For him, the mask became a means of expressing something about humanity and society.

He wrote that everything we perceive—and our reactions to it—ultimately becomes a "mask." Consequently, his masks possess both a psychological and a satirical quality.