The Jailor 1926

Theodore Roszak made this print called "The Jailor" using dark grey ink to pull it from the plate, and the effect is kind of haunting. I wonder what Roszak was thinking when he made it; the man looks imprisoned by his own mind, his eyes are shut, but the perspective lines of the stairs open up a space behind him. It’s so interesting, right? The sharp angles and the way the light catches the edges make it look like a dreamscape, or maybe a nightmare, with all these stairs going nowhere. And the man with the cards, dealing out his fate. I'm wondering if he is trapped within a game of chance. Looking at his other works, especially the sculptures, there’s a similar intensity. Artists are in a constant conversation across time and space. Roszak makes me think of Goya, another master of the dark arts of the psyche. It's all about embracing ambiguity, inviting multiple interpretations, and really letting the art speak to you in its own strange, evocative language.