Georges Rouault

French, 1871 – 1958. Georges Rouault was a painter, print artist, and draughtsman famous for his artworks related to Expressionism and Fauvism. His works feature bold graphic lines and jewel-like tones. The painter was born in a Parisian home. Rouault’s mother motivated him to pursue a career in arts. At the age of fourteen, in 1885, Georges Rouault started his apprenticeship as a glass painter. The artist’s experience with glass painting is considered an inspiration for his artworks with heavy black contours and bright colors similar to leaded glass. These were the prominent characteristics of Georges Rouault paintings and depict his mature style. While working as an apprentice, Georges Rouault also learned art at the School of Fine Arts. He also attended the École des Beaux-Arts in France. He studied under famous Symbolist artist Gustave Moreau who was a lifelong mentor to Rouault.

The artist’s early works portray symbolism and a color palette influenced by his mentor Gustave Moreau. After Moreau died in 1898, Georges Rouault was selected to be the curator of the Moreau Museum in Paris. Rouault along with artists André Derain and Henri Matisse and his experience in medieval stained glass, created landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and religious scenes. One of his prime artworks is a 1916-1936 artwork titled The Old King, through which the painter explores the strength of primary colors and symbolism in a poetic fashion. From 1895 to 1898, Georges Rouault was undergoing an emotional breakdown. Since then, the artist developed an interest in societal flaws. He often visited law courts in Paris to find subjects of his paintings. Throughout his life, the artist created artworks of clowns, Christ, and prostitutes.

Today, Georges Rouault prints and paintings are on display at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and many others. Georges Rouault art for sale is available online on leading auction gallery portals. Collectors can also find Georges Rouault art at online auction with reputed auction houses.

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