Lerand in the Role of "Rodin" in The Wandering Jew 1903

Edgar Chahine made this print, Lerand in the Role of "Rodin" in The Wandering Jew, using etching, a way of drawing with acid on metal. The whole thing is rendered in these really subtle grays, like a memory fading in and out. What strikes me is how Chahine uses the etching to build up the figure of Lerand. Look closely, and you'll see a web of tiny lines that create the shadows and folds of his coat. It's like he's not just showing us what Lerand looks like, but also how time and weather have etched themselves onto his face and clothes. The umbrella is particularly amazing, it's like a second skin, curving around him. You know, this print reminds me a bit of Whistler's work, that same sense of atmosphere and quiet observation. And just like in Whistler's pieces, there's something melancholic, yet beautiful in Chahine's art, a testament to the transient nature of life.