Georges Rouault

Georges Rouault was a French painter and printmaker known for his expressive and colorful paintings.

Biography of Georges Rouault

Georges-Henri Rouault was born in 1871 in a cellar during the chaotic "Bloody Week" at the conclusion of the Paris Commune. A stray shell struck the family home, and his mother, faced with danger, had to relocate to the cellar, where she gave birth to her second child.

Despite his fragile constitution, Rouault enjoyed a happy childhood in the working district of Belleville in Paris. His father, Alexander, a carpenter at the Pleyel piano factory, passed on to him a deep appreciation for craftsmanship. The entire Rouault family shared a passion for creativity and actively supported Georges's artistic inclinations. Notably, his maternal grandfather had assembled a collection of lithographs by Honoré Daumier and reproductions of paintings by Rembrandt, Courbet, and Manet. Rouault later remarked that he began his education with Daumier.

Rouault's journey into art commenced at an early age, and by fourteen, he apprenticed under Georges Hirsch, a glass painter and restorer of medieval windows. This formative experience is often credited as the origin of the distinctive heavy black lines that characterize Rouault's mature style. Despite the demands of his apprenticeship, he would traverse Paris after work to draw from antiques and attend life drawing classes at the School of Decorative Arts. Sundays were dedicated to sketching at the Louvre.

At eighteen, Rouault enrolled at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, where, like Matisse, Marquet, and Camoin, he studied under the Symbolist Gustave Moreau. Rouault quickly became Moreau's favorite pupil and a personal friend. Moreau, a progressive and open-minded mentor, respected the individuality of his students and allowed them the freedom to develop their artistic inclinations.

The influence of Moreau is evident in many works from this period, during which Rouault aspired to win the prestigious Prix de Rome. While he secured the Prix Chenavard in 1894, his attempts at the Prix de Rome were unsuccessful. Following these setbacks, Moreau advised Rouault to leave school and pursue an independent career. Rouault left the school, and Moreau continued to support and guide him.

In his early twenties, Rouault began contributing annually to the Salon des Artistes Français and frequented the Ambroise Vollard gallery, where he encountered works by renowned artists such as Cézanne and Gauguin.

The untimely death of Moreau in 1897 had a profound impact on Rouault. Concurrently, his parents relocated to Algeria to support his sister, whose husband passed away. Despite being appointed Curator of the Moreau Museum in 1898, Rouault plunged into a deep depression. After enduring a violent crisis and an extended period of solitude and sorrow, which he termed his "abyss," he temporarily ceased painting. 

In 1901, Rouault decided to spend time at the Benedictine Abbey of Ligugé, where his friend, the novelist Huysmans, aimed to establish a secluded community for Catholic artists. Having converted to Catholicism in 1895, Rouault was closely connected to the French Catholic intelligentsia. At Ligugé, the group committed to resisting publicity and anything that flattered their creative vanities. Rouault, in particular, resolved never to cater to public taste. The enactment of the Waldeck-Rousseau law against religious associations in 1902 led to the dissolution of the community, prompting Rouault's return to Paris.

Later that year, a stay in the resort town of Evian-les-Bains enabled him to regain his balance and resume painting with renewed energy. Inspired by Moreau's ideas and shaped by his own philosophical and religious convictions, Rouault developed a highly distinctive expressive style and selected subject matter that mirrored his skepticism toward the corruption and complacency of bourgeois society. Departing from Moreau's symbolism, he turned his focus to depicting human misery, haunting law courts, and portraying corrupt judges in a style reminiscent of Daumier. Collaborating with fellow artists, he invited prostitutes to his studio for painting sessions.

Rouault's enduring attraction to clowns traces back to 1905 when a chance encounter left a lasting imprint on his perspective. While on a walk, he stumbled upon a "nomad caravan parked by the roadside," and a circus was preparing for its upcoming performance. His attention was drawn to an "old clown sitting in a corner of his caravan, mending his sparkling and gaudy costume." The contrast between the clown's "scintillating" costume and seemingly joyful demeanor versus his private life "of infinite sadness," which he saw reflected in all people, struck Rouault profoundly.

Rouault played a role in establishing the progressive Salon d'Automne in 1903. He joined the Fauves and exhibited with Matisse in 1905, experimenting with pure color, form, and composition. Matisse and Rouault maintained a productive working relationship, evident in their extensive correspondence. Moreau played a central role in shaping the artistic development of both men. While color held a central position in the aesthetic of both artists, Rouault differentiated himself by incorporating bold, heavy lines into his jewel-like tones.

Rouault, a taciturn man who rarely visited cafes and steered clear of the Bohemian life of Paris, preferred the company of Catholic circles. By this time, he had discovered the writings of the radical Catholic Leon Bloy, embracing the ideas of a writer advocating spiritual revival through suffering and poverty. Despite Bloy's known bigotry and dislike for Rouault's perceived "ugly" paintings, the two remained close friends until Bloy died in 1917.

In 1908, Rouault married Marthe Le Sidaner, a pianist and the sister of the painter Henri Sidaner. Their union lasted until the end of Rouault's life, and together they raised four children.

During the 1910s, Rouault began to receive recognition in the art world. In this period, he also delved into experimenting with other media, particularly engraving. In 1910, Druet organized Rouault's first solo exhibition, marking an early success, yet the artist continued to lead a modest and solitary existence. The meager income from his position at the Moreau Museum was insufficient to support his family, leading them to relocate to Versailles in 1912. Settling into a squalid, rat-infested house in an old quarter of the town, the family faced challenging conditions. Within days of their move, the artist's father, with whom he had engaged in extensive discussions on the nature of art, passed away. Amidst these difficulties, Rouault found solace in the companionship of Jacques Maritain, another figure in the Catholic revival movement. This period marked a significant turning point in Rouault's artistic outlook, as his work increasingly embraced a Catholic perspective.

Struggling to lessen the pain of his father's death, Rouault embarked on a series of Indian ink drawings, laying the foundation for the engravings that would become part of his monumental masterpiece, the "Miserere" book. 

During World War I, Rouault was deemed unfit for service, prompting the whole family to move to the relative tranquility of the Normandy countryside, where he continued to paint. The image of Christ began to feature prominently in his art.

In 1917, Rouault signed a contract with art dealer Ambroise Vollard. This partnership had been in discussion since 1913, and finally, Rouault granted Vollard artistic exclusivity in exchange for a fixed salary. Vollard even provided a studio on the top floor of his house, allowing Rouault to work at his own pace. The artist had attained financial stability, allowing him to focus entirely on his career. However, Vollard was characterized as jealous and controlling, often seeking to monopolize the work of the artists under his patronage.

Vollard, with a deep appreciation for books and prints, commissioned numerous illustrated books from Rouault. As Vollard's demands increased, Rouault shifted his focus from painting to printmaking. During this period, he illustrated several books, including the sequels to Alfred Jarry's "Pere Ubu" (1927) and Charles Baudelaire's "Fleurs du Mal" (1928). In 1928, Rouault collaborated with the poet and critic Andre Suares on a book project they had worked on for several years. However, Vollard, nursing a personal grievance against Suares, refused to publish the poet's writings. Frustrated, Rouault agreed to replace Suares's poetry with his own writings, resulting in the completed book titled "The Circus of the Shooting Star."

Despite his increased involvement in printmaking, from 1927-1928, Rouault committed to painting exclusively in what would become his signature style: heavy black lines enclosing colors and shapes. During this time, he made the deliberate choice to use only oil, completely abandoning watercolor and gouache. His subjects, including clowns, prostitutes, and the figure of Christ, continued to dominate his work.

During his mature period, Rouault participated in numerous exhibitions that garnered relative success with critics. In 1929, he contributed to the ballet The Prodigal Son, designing the décor and costumes for his friend Sergei Diaghilev. In 1937, Rouault achieved global recognition by presenting forty-two paintings at the Paris World's Fair. Outside France, Pierre Matisse, the son of Henri Matisse, hosted three solo exhibitions for Rouault at his New York gallery between 1933 and 1947.

In 1939, Rouault was released from his contractual ties with Vollard after the latter's tragic death in a car crash. However, Rouault faced difficulties when Vollard's estate sealed access to the artist's house, preventing him from retrieving his sketches, notes, and unfinished artworks. World War II had compelled Rouault to leave Paris for the south of France long before the matter could be resolved. Nonetheless, in the South, he continued to paint alongside other displaced artists.

It wasn't until 1947 that Rouault finally settled his legal dispute with the Vollard estate. Successfully suing Vollard's heirs for the return of approximately 800 paintings, Rouault argued that their unfinished state would harm his reputation if sold. The court ruled in favor of the artist, declaring him the rightful owner, and he reclaimed over 700 unfinished paintings. One year later, in front of a public notary, Rouault burned 315 works that he deemed impossible to complete. He would burn more work in the following years. For Rouault, the trial represented a moral triumph rather than merely a material victory.

In the later years of his career, marked by contentment, warmer tonalities emerged in Rouault's paintings. The final decade showcased brilliant colors, less solemn depictions, and a return to landscapes. The artist continued experimenting with colors until the end of his life. In 1949, the Catholic Church commissioned him to create windows for the church at Plateau d'Assy in Haute-Savoie, France. By 1956, Rouault's frailty prevented him from painting, and in 1958, he passed away at 87. Notably, he became the first artist in history to receive a state funeral from the French government. In 1963, his family donated nearly 1000 unfinished works to the French State.