Georges Henri Rouault (1871 – 1958)
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Rouault was a French painter and printmaker, connected to the Fauvist and Expressionist movements. Rouault was born in Paris, where he studied and spent most of his life. Rouault started an apprenticeship at the age of fourteen, working as in glass painting and restoration. During his apprenticeship, Rouault started taking evening art classes. In 1891 Rouault decided to devote more time to study and enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Rouault studied under Gustave Moreau, an active symbolist painter in Paris. After Moreau’s death, Rouault was chosen to curate the official Moreau Museum.
After Rouault’s studies he gravitated to a circle of fauvist painters, which included Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet, Henri Manguin and Charles Camoin. In 1895 Rouault began exhibiting in major venues in Paris and was accepted into the famous, Salon d’Automne multiple times.
In 1907 Rouault began painting his clown series, which were intended to criticize society’s moral values. Rouault’s personal values began to be shaped by his religious views and the existential views of Jacques Maritain. By 1917 Rouault decided to dedicate all of his time to creating paintings informed by the Christian faith. In addition to traditional painting, Rouault helped to design “The Prodigal Son” a ballet by Diaghilev.
Shortly before his death, Rouault burned around three hundred of his paintings. His remaining works are extremely valuable and can be found in major museums and private collections around the world. Do you think you own a painting by Rouault? Contact us. We are the Rouault experts.