The Empire Destroys, The Republic Pays c. 1918

Jean-Louis Forain made this drawing, “The Empire Destroys, The Republic Pays” sometime between 1852 and 1931. It's all about mark-making, where the artist's hand really tells the story. I imagine Forain, charcoal in hand, trying to capture not just what he saw, but how it felt to witness such devastation. He’s really throwing some dark, heavy marks down on the page. These darks are the weight of the world. It’s like he’s digging into the paper, trying to unearth some truth, some understanding. You can almost feel the rubble under your own feet. And, of course, it's not just about this one drawing, right? It's about how artists, like Forain, are always looking, responding, and adding to a conversation that's been going on for centuries. They share in their humanity, trying to make sense of it all, through marks, through color, through form. It's beautiful and messy and totally human.