is a way to reach the hard-to-get-to places in the human soul.

Sixteen German Expressionist artists with 85 graphics currently on display at the Portland Museum of Art do just that, exploring the anger and unrest in their personal lives – and the society in which they lived – during the early 20th century.

Woodcuts, lithographs, etchings and drypoint prints capture the emotional impact, psychological stresses and physical sufferings endured by German people during World War I and the several economic downturn of the Weimar Republic that followed.

Graphics in the exhibit, titled, “German Expressionist Graphics: The Bradford Collection,” are from a print collection amassed by David and Eva Bradford, summer residents of Center Lovell. The show will be up through Oct. 24.

The German Expressionist movement’s roots were established as far back as 1882 in an exhibit of Edvard Munch’s work in Berlin. Two Munch graphics, “Man and Woman,” and “Head of Old Man,” which are in the PMA exhibit, are dark and mysterious and explore a deeper reality of inner feelings.

Munch was an important figure and forerunner of the German Expressionist movement because of his philosophy. His work reflects a psychological internal approach. “A work of art can come only from the interior of man,” Munch once stated in his writings. “Art is the form of the image formed from the nerves, heart, brain, and eye of man.”

Two students from the Maine College of Art, Nina Petrochko and Chris Keene, both freshman, were visiting the exhibit when I entered the galleries. They loved it. “It is intriguing that out of all this sadness comes beauty,” observed Petrochko, who is from Oxford, Conn.

“I love how crisp and clear the woodcuts look. The contrast between pure black and gray scales make the figure’s emotions speak clearly. It’s real to me,” said Keene, of Burlington, Mass. “It’s like raw emotion. That’s why it was so controversial at the time.”

German Expressionist art was controversial when it emerged in the early 1900s because it often was not complimentary. It exposed the dark side of man and at times took on the form of biting, political satire. Artists concentrated on the human form and urban and rural landscapes. In some works, nude forms were depicted outdoors. Capitalism and the exploitation of labor were exposed in other works; and anti-war graphics brought the visual horrors of war to the public’s attention.

It is interesting that the Bradfords are psychologists. “Our interest in human experience probably accounts for both our professional and artistic choices. German Expressionism attempts to get below the surface reality, ‘under the skin,’ to portray some of the deeper feelings and issues with which people struggle,” they wrote in the catalog essay.

Outstanding artists in the Bradford collection include Max Beckmann, Kathe Kollwitz, Otto Dix, Erich Heckel, Emil Nolde, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, George Grosz, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Conrad Felixmuller, to name only a few.

Kollwitz’s self-portrait, created from a soft-edged lithograph, can be seen as one gets off the elevator at the PMA. It expresses deep sorrow and despair. The only woman artist in this movement, her works reflect the sorrow and suffering women endured during this period. She lost a son in World War I and her overwhelming grief can be seen in much of her work which focuses on people, especially women, struggling to survive.

Schmidt-Rottluff’s works in the exhibit are strong and powerful. In his woodcut titled “Head of Worker,” he explores the downtrodden laborer, frozen in his fate.

Beckmann’s self-portrait, a woodcut with bold lines, done in 1922, reflects a strong and decisive man, unhappy with himself, but searching beyond the surface for answers. It is interesting that in another self-portrait, a drypoint with fine lines, Beckmann looks like a totally different man, sensitive and insecure.

A prophetic and timeless work by Dix titled “The Shock Troops Advancing Through Poison Gas” depicts soldiers wearing gas masks. This etching with aquatint, done in 1924, is simply frightening.

One of Grosz’ satirical works, “Nobody Gives A Damn,” shows the extent of human cruelty courtesy of warfare. It is a lithograph depicting a soldier getting well, so that he can be executed. He apparently is not well enough to be killed as is.

One of the best works in the exhibit is Felixmuller’s woodcut “Portrait of Max Leiberman.” The Jewish artist was ostracized by the Nazis in 1933 and forced to resign as president of the Academy of Art in Berlin. This piece is part of a famous series of artists’ portraits done by Felixmuller, and shows a turning point toward more realism in his work.

Two other outstanding works in the exhibit were created by Kirchner. They are “Farmer Couple in the Hut,” a woodcut on blue wove paper, created in 1919; and a portrait titled “David Muller,” a woodcut on buff wove paper, created in 1918. Another moving Kirchner work is a lithograph titled “Portrait of Carl Sternheim.” Kirchner was a leader in the early German Expressionist movement and founded a group known as “Die Brucke” (meaning bridge). Artists in this group of German Expressionist art believed they were forming a bridge to the future. Some historians maintain they formed a bridge to modern art.

My favorite work in the exhibit is “Portrait of Christian Rohlfs,” a woodcut created by Felixmuller in 1927. I like the composition, fine lines in his hair, strong lines in the plant nearby, and smoke coming out of his cigar. It is a work of inner reflection and a certain harmony.

“German Expressionist Graphics: The Bradford Collection” is a graphic arts paradise. It shows many different graphic mediums in very good condition, signed by the artists who reflected the times in which they lived. This is an exhibit for students and art lovers alike. It captures an important yet neglected period of art history.

The Portland Museum of Art is located at Seven Congress Square in downtown Portland. It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. The museum is open Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Columbus Day. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students with I.D, $2 for youths 6 to 17; free for children under age 6. Admission is free Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. For more information, call 775-6148; or go online to www.portlandmuseumofart.org.

Pat Davidson Reef has a master’s degree in education and has taught art history at Catherine McAuley High School in Portland. She has written two children’s books, “Dahlov Ipcar, Artist,” and “Bernard Langlais, Sculptor.” She teaches children’s literature for teacher recertification for the American Institute for Creative Education.