Lourdes, Transport of the Paralyzed 1912 - 1913

Jean-Louis Forain's etching, "Lourdes, Transport of the Paralyzed," captures a scene of pilgrimage with a raw, sketchy energy. The sepia tones feel like a faded memory, or a newsreel of a bygone era. I imagine Forain, squinting in the sun, rapidly etching these figures, trying to capture the feeling of the place - the hope and despair hanging heavy in the air. Look at the scratchy lines forming the crowd, a mass of longing faces blurring into one another. The central figure of the man carrying another is really poignant: his posture is ambiguous; is he burdened by his duty or trying to keep upright? The lines are thin, like he is barely holding on. The etched line reminds me of Daumier's lithographs – a similar empathy for the everyday struggles of ordinary people. This work speaks to the ongoing conversation artists have about human experience, about bearing witness to the light and dark within us.