Le Fin 1960

Auguste Herbin's "Le Fin" is a striking image, achieved through the graphic medium of serigraphy, also known as screen-printing. This is a process by which ink is forced through a prepared screen onto the printing surface, resulting in bold, flat areas of color, here in stark black and white. The impact of this process on the image is clear. The shapes are simplified to their essence: circles, triangles, rectangles – all rendered with sharp precision. This direct approach mirrors the industrial aesthetics of the early to mid-20th century. Serigraphy, while capable of fine detail, lends itself to abstraction and simplification. "Le Fin" embodies a certain ethos of mass production, moving away from the hand-touched qualities of traditional painting. The artist is almost functioning like a technician, using the printing process to create multiple identical images. This ties into broader themes of labor, politics, and consumption. The emphasis shifts from individual creation to reproducible design. Ultimately, the serigraphic process is critical to understanding the artwork. It transcends the traditional fine art-craft divide by employing a technique rooted in industry to create a purely aesthetic composition.