Illustration to "Bandello" 1947

Imre Reiner made this illustration to “Bandello” using, I think, some kind of printmaking technique: maybe woodcut or etching. Look at how the figure’s face emerges out of the dense, dark marks. I love the raw, scratchy energy. You can feel Reiner wrestling with the image, digging into the plate to find the form. I bet he felt so energized in the process. I can almost see his hand moving across the surface, guided by intuition, responding to the material, letting the image slowly reveal itself. It’s like he’s channeling something ancient. It reminds me a bit of some of Picasso's prints, but with an added layer of psychological intensity. The way Reiner uses the hatched lines to create shadow and depth is particularly effective. The figure seems to be emerging from the darkness, a product of hard work and of history, like a kind of a dream.