Recontre 1936

Georges Rouault made this powerful monochromatic painting, it’s a knockout, and you can just tell he wasn't messing around. Rouault's got this way of laying down marks, like in the foreground, where the paint is slapped on with a fury, it feels both rough and precise. Look at how the figures are just barely there, kind of emerging from the gloom, rendered with thick, dark outlines like stained glass. It's a visceral thing, the way he builds up the image. There's this one diagonal stroke, slashing across the scene, it gives the whole image this precarious, off-kilter feel. It reminds me a bit of Goya and his dark visions, both artists are masters of using the medium to evoke a sense of unease. Rouault's work doesn't tell you what to think, it just throws you into the thick of it and leaves you to figure it out.