Self-Portrait II 1926

Georges Rouault made this self portrait using black ink, maybe as an etching, and the process feels incredibly direct, immediate. The texture is almost like a worn fresco, or a charcoal drawing, so soft and velvety. It is as if the artist used a worn rag or stump to drag the pigment across the surface. Look at the lower left of the image, and notice the scratchy marks, which give the composition a restless energy. The face seems to emerge from the darkness, a somber and intense figure. Rouault was interested in clowns and religious figures, and his mark-making has a lot of soulfulness and humanity. You can see a similar approach to mark-making in the work of Francisco Goya, who also explored themes of suffering and the human condition. Art often takes place through a kind of conversation, a call and response across time.