The Liberator c. 1930

Leslie Henderson made this mezzotint, titled 'The Liberator', and right away, you can tell it's all about contrasts. Henderson uses this technique to play with darks and lights and create a really intense mood. Check out the texture of that giant hand, how Henderson manages to suggest both the softness of skin and the sheer scale of the thing, and the way it dwarfs the figure it’s holding. Then look at the sharp precision of the machinery below. I love the way the artist focuses on this interplay, the composition emphasizing the tension between freedom and oppression. That hand could be interpreted in so many different ways! It reminds me a bit of Piranesi's etchings, with that same sense of grand scale and underlying unease, but there’s also something really modern about the image. Ultimately, it’s one of those pieces that stays with you, precisely because it doesn’t offer any easy answers.