Symphonie Asfiguratique 1935

Alfred Rudolph made this swirling monochromatic image using printmaking techniques sometime before 1942. The whole composition kind of undulates and vibrates before our eyes. I imagine Rudolph carefully etching and burnishing, coaxing darks and lights from the plate. The conductor stands tall, arms outstretched like some sort of crazed puppet master, with the orchestra rising up in a crescendo. I wonder what Rudolph was thinking when he made this? Maybe about power, about the dynamic between the individual and the collective? The dark, theatrical setting could be a metaphor for the political stage, the figures trapped in its drama. Rudolph, like so many artists, was working in Europe during a dark time. I see echoes of other artists grappling with similar themes, like Otto Dix and George Grosz. It makes me wonder: how did they manage to be so creative in times of such turmoil? Anyway, isn’t it reassuring to know we are all connected through mark making?