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About this work

You see jagged black lines and smudges of dark red gouache on a pale paper ground. The shapes feel like broken bodies or torn buildings. Ben-Zion made this in 1943, right after word of the Nazi massacres reached New York. He called the series *De Profundis*—Latin for “from the depths.” The title tells you what the marks are trying to say, even if the image stays abstract. Look up *gouache* to see how this chalky, opaque watercolor can hold both rage and grief.