Heckel was a key member of the Brücke (Bridge) group of German Expressionist artists. This drawing dates to the period 1911-1913 when the group was based in Berlin. The broad simplification of shapes and heavy black outlines relate to Heckel's work in woodcut, a medium in which he was particularly prolific. The vibrant complementary colors of the background, which contribute to the portrait's intensity, may actually represent his studio, which a visitor described at the time as 'adorned with colored cloth like a tent.' Like the other Brücke artists, Heckel was drawn to African sculpture, which he studied in the ethnographic museums of Dresden and Berlin. That influence is visible here in the masklike treatment of the face and the proportions of the figure, notably the large size of the head, a sign of the importance of intellect over the physical and material.
Signed and dated at lower right, in graphite pencil, "Heckel 12".