Il a ete maltraite et opprime et il n'a pas ouvert la bouche 1923

Georges Rouault made this print, “Il a ete maltraite et opprime et il n'a pas ouvert la bouche” using aquatint and etching – processes that are all about building up tone and texture. Look at the figure, so beaten down, how the dense, almost impenetrable darkness surrounds him. It’s all process. Aquatint is so cool, it’s almost like a magic trick, you create tone through acid eating into the metal plate. The different tones, and textures that come out – so much depends on chance, on the amount of time in the acid bath. This makes Rouault’s work so powerful. Consider the way Rouault uses these blacks, not just to depict suffering, but to make you feel it, too. It’s a bit like Goya, he's definitely in that tradition. It’s about something raw, and deeply human. In art, you have to let go of the need for control, just like in life.