Satan 1925 - 1927

Georges Rouault made this etching, called Satan, sometime in the 1920s. It’s rendered in blacks, whites, and grays that look like they’ve been dragged across the plate. The artist is literally digging in and excavating the image from the darkness. I’m looking at this figure, and I’m trying to imagine what Rouault might have been thinking. The figure looks kind of ashamed, right? He is hunched over with his arms across his body. I wonder if Rouault was feeling some shame of his own. Maybe shame about the world? The stark contrast between light and shadow is so dramatic, so theatrical; it’s as if he is placing the figure in the spotlight. The scratches and dense cross-hatching create a rich surface, and the textures feel really raw and unresolved. I love how painters are in an ongoing conversation with each other. Rouault was a master of color and often painted religious subjects like his contemporary Emil Nolde. They both shared a spiritual intensity, expressing it with innovative mark-making. Their paintings are alive, vibrating with feeling. And aren’t we all just feeling our way through the darkness, hoping to catch some light?