"Plus le coeur est noble moins le col est roide" 1926

Editor: We’re looking at "Plus le coeur est noble moins le col est roide" a charcoal print by Georges Rouault from 1926. It's a pretty stark portrait. What is Rouault trying to communicate with the print medium? Curator: He uses the material qualities of the charcoal and printmaking to highlight the commodification of morality, quite literally the 'collar' alluded to in the title and the dark, oppressive feeling created. Consider how Rouault uses inexpensive materials to highlight themes of social critique and question the elite art world’s values. Look closely – what effect does that gestural application of charcoal have on our interpretation? Editor: The rough application definitely suggests…discomfort? Like it's meant to make us feel uneasy about the subject. Almost a commentary on the mass production of societal values. Curator: Precisely. Rouault strategically uses these more 'common' or even ‘cheap’ materials of print to undermine expectations of preciousness surrounding fine art portraiture. The printmaking process, the reproduction, amplifies the reach, democratizing this pointed message to broader audiences. To him, does this elevate the process and therefore art? Editor: I suppose it does, if it lets more people access it and be aware of what Rouault's aiming to express. So the act of making and circulating becomes its own statement? Curator: Yes, absolutely! It's as if the accessibility *is* the message, intertwined with that pointed critique of societal hypocrisy. So what does it mean when materials that weren't highly prized are deliberately being consumed at this level? Editor: So it's a social statement made manifest in its very means of production, from its themes to the materials? Very cool. Curator: Absolutely! Reflecting on Rouault’s art reveals much about art's role in broader cultural conversations around value and consumption. I wonder what other interpretations exist outside of this gallery?