Chemineau 1935

Georges Rouault made this artwork called Chemineau in 1935, probably with a brush and ink or paint, with bold outlines and a palette of blacks, greys, and whites. I wonder if it came into being through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with Rouault, standing in front of the canvas, maybe turning it around and around as he worked. He was probably thinking about the material aspects of painting – texture, color, surface, and the physicality of the medium. The paint is laid on in big brushstrokes and shapes that describe a figure. The heavy outline creates a flattened and expressive form, which gives the image the quality of a woodcut. Rouault made lots of paintings with these heavy dark lines, a bit like stained glass, so this is a recognizable gesture in his painting practice. Artists are always talking to each other across time and space, inspiring one another’s creativity. Painting is an embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.