Pantagruel: Livre V, Chapter XXXVI - "Les Freques" 1942

Bernard Reder created this evocative print, "Pantagruel: Livre V, Chapter XXXVI - Les Freques," to illustrate François Rabelais’s satirical novel. The scene is rendered with stark contrasts of black and white, creating a visually arresting tableau. Reder’s use of dense, rhythmic lines constructs the forms and textures within the image, particularly in the water's currents and the figures' bodies. The composition, populated with figures, creates a dynamic interplay of light and shadow, which seems almost sculptural. The formal qualities of the print align with the bawdy, rebellious spirit of Rabelais's narrative. The grotesque, exaggerated figures challenge classical notions of beauty and decorum, mirroring the novel's critique of established societal norms. Through the intentional manipulation of line and form, Reder infuses the print with a raw, energetic quality that unsettles conventional aesthetic expectations. This invites us to question the boundaries between the beautiful and the grotesque.