The Supper at Emmaus c. 1912 - 1913

Jean-Louis Forain made The Supper at Emmaus with pastel and crayon, working those materials into an image that feels immediate, like a memory. The beauty here is how Forain lets the strokes stand for themselves, hatching blues, pinks and yellows so they shimmer. It’s as if he’s inviting us into the process, into that moment of recognition. The colors are like feelings, applied quickly, one next to the other. Look at the figure on the left, the way the brown crayon describes the slump of his body, the weight of grief or exhaustion. Then, the light around Christ’s head and the server on the right, holding a platter of bread. It's all about suggestion, about what emerges from the darkness. It reminds me of Daumier, another artist who knew how to find the human in the mess of things. Art isn't about answers, it's about the questions we ask, the doubts we hold, and the way we keep looking.