GEORGES ROUAULT / MISERERE ET GUERRE / STUDY

Georges Rouault - Miserere et Guerre

Back in 2011, in the middle years of caring for my mother, there was a weight I carried, nameless and unknown, for my bipolar disorder had yet to be diagnosed. In those dark days I found solace in the work of Georges Rouault, a man who etched his heart onto copper plates, revealing the truth of his own struggle. Miserere et Guerre (Mercy and War), an engraving series by Rouault, profound and resonant, spoke to me in the language of suffering and redemption. Few artists had ever pierced my soul as he did, his work filled with the intensity of a storm. So, with charcoal and a notebook, I made this humble study, a tribute to the master, and an exploration of the depths of my own heart. Like all of my art, a way to convey the wordless, escape the dark, and pray to the Beloved. This morning my wife turned the pages of a moment in my past. Tears and coffee. Gratitude fills my heart. Sending love to those in the midst of their darkness.  

-Augustus