Midsummer's Dream
Lot 330:
Description
Georges Rouault, ‘Le Pitre’, 1926. signed Lithograph on Paper
G. Rouault signed and attributed to Georges Rouault (French, 1871-1958). ‘Le Pitre’, 1926. Lithograph, depicting a theatrical subject, signed in pencil lower right, G. Rouault, numbered 31/100, lower left. Blind stamp lower right.
Rouault began his career in an apprenticeship as a glass painter and restorer. This early experience as a glass painter has been suggested as a likely influence on his later work which is characterized by heavy black contouring with glowing colors. During his apprenticeship, he also attended evening classes at the School of Fine Arts, and in 1891, he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, the official art school of France. There he studied under Gustave Moreau. Rouault’s earliest works show a symbolism in the use of color that probably reflects Moreau’s influence, and when Moreau died in 1898, he was nominated as the curator of the Moreau Museum in Paris. He also formed early career associations and friendships with Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet and Charles Camoin which brought him into the fold of the fauvists, with whom he exhibited at their famous 1905 exhibition at the Salon d’Automne.
In 1907, he began a series of paintings dedicated to courts, clowns and prostitutes. These paintings are interpreted as moral and social criticism. In his later life he created work inspired by his faith, as well as landscapes. Provenance: Property from the Estate of Anita and Burton Reiner.
Sight – 15 1/4" high x 10 1/4" wide. Frame – 23 3/4" high x 18 1/2" wide.
Condition: Some slight toning. Frame with minor wear.
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