The End – Verdun c. 1916

Jean-Louis Forain made this etching, called 'The End – Verdun', using delicate lines, like whispers on paper. I can almost see him, bent over the plate, his hand moving swiftly, capturing a scene so raw with feeling. He probably used a needle to scratch those fine marks into the metal, each stroke a deliberate act of mourning. It must have been difficult to look at this subject matter, to feel it so deeply, and then translate it through the meticulous process of etching. The texture he creates with those lines—it’s like a visual echo of the chaos and the sorrow. See how he uses denser marks to convey grief and loss. I imagine the artist wanted to capture the mood, so we, the viewers, can think about what it was like. Forain is like Goya in this way—bearing witness, using his art to speak truth to power, to create a space for contemplation and remembrance. Artists are always responding to one another. It's an ongoing conversation across time.