The Phoenix

Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: Diversions

Opening this week at the Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) is an exhibit of the early modern fauvist Georges Rouault and his series of etchings entitled "Miserere et Guerre" (Mercy and War) which was created shortly before World War I. LUMA features all 58 prints in this series.

Originally trained to work in stained glass, Rouault is very much influenced by the Gothic period, stating that, "I do not feel as if I belong to this modern life … My real life is back in the age of the Cathedral." While this influence becomes obvious through the iconic images of Christian devotion and the overall theme of redemption through Christ, Rouault owes much to modernist art as well.

His prints feature a style of broad expressionism seen through his use of heavy line and stark black and white contrast. This creates figures that are simple in form but emotionally complex and dramatic. Also of modern influence is the innovative etching technique Rouault utilized in creating these prints. Rouault used various materials such as sandpaper, files and dripped acid to create a style previously not seen in etching.

Rouault moves the viewer through the series of prints by the use of poetic titles. While the influence of Christianity and biblical scripture is represented throughout the exhibit, Rouault also uses his own writing and classical influences.

Through his titles, Rouault often invites the viewer to contemplate the theme of the work in her own life. In one print, Rouault creates an image of a stretching nude figure fighting against pain and asks in his title, "Are we not slaves?" He transitions from this to a work entitled "Believing we are all kings," which features a much more stagnant geometric figure clothed in great wealth. The third in the series questions "Who does not wear a mask?" This work shows an honest face, staring outwardly in agonizing truth. Rouault means to showcase not only the questions created by war, but also the questions of what it is to be human.

Rouault's classical influences can be seen in one print where he quotes the Odes of Horace with the title "War, dread of mothers." At the same time, Rouault clearly alludes to iconographic Christian art in this work by depicting a mother and child in a similar embrace as many Madonna images of the Middle Ages.

This focus on religion, Rouault's main theme, is seen throughout the entire exhibit. The series begins with a print taking its title from Psalm 50: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness." After portraying a few images of the suffering Christ, Rouault portrays images of the suffering of mankind. Rouault comforts those who are in agony on Earth by comparing their pain to the pain of Christ. This connection is not only shown through the close proximity of the images, but also the style in which Rouault shows the human form. Instead of showing Christ in divine glory, Rouault often focuses on the fallible flesh of Christ and thus portrays him in a moment of deep agony.

Similarly, the images Rouault uses do not show men in the glorious state of battle, but rather in the weakness of pain. This immediately identifies man with Christ, leading to an overall feeling of compassion and hope despite the atrocities of war.

The foundation on religious hope and good will is why Rouault often has trouble identifying himself with the modern art movement of his time. While other artists depicted the horrors of the modern world and the individual's struggle to find meaning in it, Rouault differs by offering the traditional solution of redemption and compassion through Christ.

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