(Homage to Georges Rouault)

Meta Cohen Hendel

Hendel developed a very unique approach to the woodcut medium and her woodengravings are quite extaordinary. She carved the cherry blocks using wood-engraving tools, with the grain, a method sometimes called a ''xylograph," differentiating it from a 'woodcut' which uses different tools. 'Wood-engravings' are generally done on the end-grain. Hendel developed this very unique approach to the woodcut medium, which she described in 'How To Make A Color Wood Engraving' by Meta C. Hendel, published from Magazine Of The San Francisco Women's Club, National League For Woman's Service, July, 1946.

In this color woodengraving Meta Cohen Hendel pays tribute to Georges Rouault, borrowing his heavy linework and dark palette to create this image of a hatted man in profile, echoing the clown portraits Rouault often painted. Hendel, whose delicate florals and cityscapes are in stark contrast to Rouault’s moodier style, utilizes her preferred medium - woodengraving - to achieve an almost uncanny likeness of Rouault’s thick brushstrokes. An excellent example of Hendel’s printmaking expertise and keen versatility.