Centaur op open plaats in het bos 1920 - 1935

Ker Xavier Roussel made this monochromatic print, Centaur in an open space in the woods, with ink on paper. I can imagine Roussel standing at his printing press, carefully inking the plate. He is pulling a print that has come from his mind, a mythical creature materializing in the woods. Look how the ink seems to bleed into the paper. It gives the image a hazy, dreamlike quality. The Centaur almost emerges from the darkness. There are similarities to Odilon Redon in this work, but Roussel is more interested in classical mythology than Redon’s symbolist fixations. I can imagine Roussel seeing it as a metaphor for the wildness within us, or maybe just enjoying the process of bringing a myth to life through the physicality of ink and paper. These artists are all in conversation with each other. They each inspire the other's creativity!