Georges Rouault

Rouault, Georges 

Born May 27, 1871, in Paris; died there Feb. 13, 1958. French painter and graphic artist.

From 1885 to 1889, Rouault studied glass painting in Paris at the National School of Decorative Arts. In 1890 he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he was a pupil of J. E. Delau-nay and G. Moreau. Rouault was influenced by Daumier, by Byzantine mosaics, and by Gothic stained glass. One of the founders of fauvism, he was close to expressionism. Rouault viewed 20th-century life as a sinister tragicomedy full of despair. Using greatly distorted forms (surrounded by a heavy line), contrasts of glowing and dark colors, and an impasto technique, he imbued many of his paintings—which often had a morbid character—with a mystical, symbolic, or religious meaning (for example, his fantastic landscapes and his series The Judges, The Condemned, The Clowns, The Kings, The Crucifixion, and The Passion of Christ). Rouault produced a number of etchings.

REFERENCES

Sarab’ianov, D. “Zhorzh Ruo.” Tvorchestvo, 1968, no. 6.
Venturi, L. Rouault: Etude biographique et critique. [Geneva, 1959.]
Courthion, P. Georges Rouault. New York [1962].