Trio c. 1924 - 1927

Georges Rouault made "Trio" and, look at the density of marks here, like he's really digging in and pulling out the image. It's like he's wrestling with the picture plane, and the faces emerge from this dark, scrubby ground. The image is built up of a mass of lines, hatching marks really, and the tone is so dark and rich in places, but with pale faces emerging from the shadows. I love the way he renders the hands - they're so present. They're the only really solid thing in the image. Everything else is a bit vague and dreamlike, but those hands, crossed over each other, are monumental. Rouault's handling reminds me of printmakers like Käthe Kollwitz. There's a similar sense of empathy and a real engagement with the medium. This isn't just a picture. It's a conversation, a dialogue between the artist, the subject, and the tools that make it possible.