Christ Carrying the Cross (fifth plate) c. 1910

Jean-Louis Forain made this print of Christ carrying the cross with etching sometime between 1852 and 1931. It's a flurry of lines, all scratchy and urgent, like a charcoal drawing done in a hurry. You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the plate. There’s a real sense of drama in the starkness of the lines. Look at how the cross is rendered, so heavy and solid against the light, almost transparent figures around it. Then, just behind the cross, notice how the crowd becomes an almost solid mass of tiny lines, a kind of blurry, anonymous mob. It’s all about texture, from the roughness of the cross to the smooth, almost ghostly quality of the figures. This print reminds me a bit of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who wasn't afraid to show the raw, painful side of life. Ultimately, art is about opening up questions, inviting us to see and feel in new ways.