"Fiere, autant qu'un vivant, de sa noble stature..." 1925 - 1927

Georges Rouault made this intaglio print, "Fier, autant qu'un vivant, de sa noble stature...", using dark inks and heavy lines to create a dense, emotionally charged image. The process of intaglio, where lines are etched into a plate, feels very present here. Look at the texture in the background and how it contrasts with the smoother handling of the figure, a skeleton in what appears to be a window. Notice the subtle nuances in the monochrome palette, from deep blacks to smoky grays, which give the print a haunting quality. There's this one particular mark, a dark, emphatic stroke defining the jawline, that really grabs my attention. It’s like Rouault is digging deep, both into the plate and into the subject matter, confronting mortality with a visceral intensity. Rouault's use of heavy black lines and stark contrasts reminds me a little bit of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who wasn't afraid to tackle difficult subject matter. Art really is this ongoing conversation, isn’t it? A back and forth across time, constantly reshaping our understanding of ourselves and the world.