Litany 1934

Robert Austin created this print, "Litany," employing a meticulous burin engraving technique. Austin, who lived through both World Wars, produced artwork steeped in a kind of solemn introspection. Here, a woman is depicted kneeling in prayer, her form draped in fabric, bent over in what appears to be supplication or perhaps utter exhaustion. The patterned fabric, combined with the composition, evokes a sense of domesticity intertwined with devotion. Yet, there is a melancholy here too, perhaps a quiet comment on the roles and expectations placed upon women, who often found themselves at the intersection of the home and the sacred. Is this woman finding solace, or is she burdened? The artist doesn’t provide an easy answer, and instead invites us to reflect on the quiet moments of devotion, and how they are interwoven with the realities of everyday life.