Passion 1936 - 1938

Editor: This is "Passion," a print made between 1936 and 1938 by Georges Rouault. It's a striking portrait that almost looks like stained glass. The heavy lines and bold colors remind me of medieval art, but there’s also a real rawness. What’s your perspective on this piece? Curator: It's compelling, isn't it? Focusing on its materiality, consider the printmaking process Rouault employed. Notice the thick, almost crude, application of ink. How does this deliberate choice of process affect your reading of 'passion'? Does it convey something about the laborious or perhaps even torturous nature of belief and creation? Editor: I see what you mean. It’s not a smooth, refined print. It's almost like he’s wrestling with the materials. So the *act* of making it – the physical struggle – mirrors the emotion of the subject? Curator: Precisely. Furthermore, understanding the social context is vital. Rouault, deeply religious, was working during a period of immense social upheaval and the rise of fascism. Could this heavy materiality and expressive distortion also be a reaction to mass-produced, sanitized imagery? Editor: Ah, that makes sense! Almost like he's grounding his art in something real, something tangible, in opposition to the dehumanizing forces of the time. Was he challenging traditional distinctions between art and craft with this kind of approach? Curator: Indeed. By foregrounding the "making," he elevates the status of the craftsman and implicitly critiques a society obsessed with idealized representations and mass production. Editor: That's fascinating. I initially just saw a sad face, but now I see a whole conversation about labor, faith, and resistance built into the printmaking itself. Curator: And that's the beauty of considering materiality and context! It opens up new avenues of interpretation. Editor: Absolutely! I’ll never look at a print the same way again.