Georges Rouault(1871-1958)
From 1885 onwards, Rouault was taught drawing in evening courses at the École des Arts Décoratifs. In the same year he began training as a glass painter, which he completed in 1890. He then attended the École Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in 1890. From 1892 he was taught by the painter Gustave Moreau, who introduced him to mysticism and religion in painting. Even in his early days, Rouault was interested in religious painting, which also testifies to his interest in medieval art. In Moreau's studio he met the painters Henri Matisse and Henri Charles Manguin. This theme initially determined the content of his images; works with Old Testament and mythological motifs were created. But Georges Rouault also turned to landscape painting. From 1895 to 1901, exhibitions in the "Salon des Artistes Francais" followed at regular intervals. The death of his teacher and mentor Gustave Moreau in 1898 marked a deep turning point in Rouault's artistic work.
He withdrew from the public art world and became curator of the Musée Moreau; He filled this position throughout his life. A change occurred in his style expression. From this point on, Georges Rouault concentrated on Expressionism, which expressed itself in strongly emphasized colors and in hard, close contrasts. He painted in the style of the Parisian Fauvists, but distinguished himself from them through his moral stance. He used fringe social figures such as prostitutes, clowns, artists and homeless people as the subject of his pictures. This is how pictures were created such as "The Harlot in front of the Mirror" from 1906 or the work entitled "Three Clowns" painted around 1917. The images of prostitutes in particular from the years 1903 to 1907 are said to be influenced by the writer Léon Marie Bloy, who describes decadent Parisian life in his novel entitled "La Femme pauvre". The French novelist Joris-Karl Huysmans also had a personal influence. From 1903 to 1908 he exhibited regularly at the Salon d'Automne. Together with Henri Matisse and Albert Marquet, he played a key role in its founding and establishment.
The work entitled "Wrestler" was created in 1905 and the following year the title "Girl with Raised Arms" was created. They are considered an example of his full-scale expressionism with the hard, erratic brushstrokes that he made with passion. This phase lasted in the two years 1905 and 1906. Georges Rouault then occupied himself with ceramic works, which allowed him to find expression from 1910 onwards. The image surface turned out to be less transparent and became less permeable. The colors in glowing tone were given a border of dark-toned contours. Between 1917 and 1927, Rouault created a series of etchings entitled "Guerre et Miserere" on the subject of war, suffering and biblical scenes, which was published in 1948 under the title "Miserere". From 1918 onwards, oil painting was again in the foreground, and biblical themes dominated his motifs. George Rouault designed the decorations for the ballet "The Prodigal Son" by the Russian ballet manager Serge Diaghilev in 1929. Since then he turned to impasto painting, which he realized in a relief-like characteristic that was exemplary for him.
From this point on, his themes were almost exclusively of a religious nature. The two large-format works entitled "The Wounded Clown" from 1932 and "Christ with the Fishermen" from 1937 are among his masterpieces. In the years 1934 to 1935, Rouault made the graphic series entitled "Passion". It was published in 1938. In 1948 he made stained glass windows for the church in Assy. Rouault's artistic work was primarily religious. With these and other works he intended to represent the experience of theological and existential areas through the expression of expressionism.
Georges Rouault died on February 13, 1958 in Paris.
He withdrew from the public art world and became curator of the Musée Moreau; He filled this position throughout his life. A change occurred in his style expression. From this point on, Georges Rouault concentrated on Expressionism, which expressed itself in strongly emphasized colors and in hard, close contrasts. He painted in the style of the Parisian Fauvists, but distinguished himself from them through his moral stance. He used fringe social figures such as prostitutes, clowns, artists and homeless people as the subject of his pictures. This is how pictures were created such as "The Harlot in front of the Mirror" from 1906 or the work entitled "Three Clowns" painted around 1917. The images of prostitutes in particular from the years 1903 to 1907 are said to be influenced by the writer Léon Marie Bloy, who describes decadent Parisian life in his novel entitled "La Femme pauvre". The French novelist Joris-Karl Huysmans also had a personal influence. From 1903 to 1908 he exhibited regularly at the Salon d'Automne. Together with Henri Matisse and Albert Marquet, he played a key role in its founding and establishment.
The work entitled "Wrestler" was created in 1905 and the following year the title "Girl with Raised Arms" was created. They are considered an example of his full-scale expressionism with the hard, erratic brushstrokes that he made with passion. This phase lasted in the two years 1905 and 1906. Georges Rouault then occupied himself with ceramic works, which allowed him to find expression from 1910 onwards. The image surface turned out to be less transparent and became less permeable. The colors in glowing tone were given a border of dark-toned contours. Between 1917 and 1927, Rouault created a series of etchings entitled "Guerre et Miserere" on the subject of war, suffering and biblical scenes, which was published in 1948 under the title "Miserere". From 1918 onwards, oil painting was again in the foreground, and biblical themes dominated his motifs. George Rouault designed the decorations for the ballet "The Prodigal Son" by the Russian ballet manager Serge Diaghilev in 1929. Since then he turned to impasto painting, which he realized in a relief-like characteristic that was exemplary for him.
From this point on, his themes were almost exclusively of a religious nature. The two large-format works entitled "The Wounded Clown" from 1932 and "Christ with the Fishermen" from 1937 are among his masterpieces. In the years 1934 to 1935, Rouault made the graphic series entitled "Passion". It was published in 1938. In 1948 he made stained glass windows for the church in Assy. Rouault's artistic work was primarily religious. With these and other works he intended to represent the experience of theological and existential areas through the expression of expressionism.
Georges Rouault died on February 13, 1958 in Paris.