Inferno Series - G 1961

Rico Lebrun, sometime in the mid-20th century, made this etching, all stark blacks and whites, conjuring Dante’s vision. I can imagine Lebrun bent over the plate, the acid biting into the metal, each line a deliberate plunge into the abyss. The forms rise from the depths, figures contorted in anguish. What does it feel like to be Lebrun, wrestling with these demons, etching them into existence? Look at the way he renders the faces, elongated and grotesque, each a mask of suffering. It reminds me of Goya, another artist who stared into the darkness. That claw-like hand, reaching, grasping—is it a plea for salvation, or a gesture of despair? I keep thinking about the power of line, how it can carve out space and emotion, all through a pressure and movement. It's a conversation across centuries, a dialogue with the masters, each artist adding their voice to the chorus of human experience.