1871-1958
Born in Paris in 1871, Georges Rouault was a French artist, whose works included painting and printing. Rouault is associated with both the Fauvist and Expressionist movements in style. He began his working life as an apprentice glass blower, and it is believed that this experience influenced his choice of dark, heavy contouring in later work. He attended evening classes at École des Beaux-Arts, studying fine art under Gustave Moreau.
When Moreau died, Rouault became curator of the Moreau Museum in Paris. Alongside his Fauvist friends, including Matisse, he created still lifes, landscapes, portraits and religious scenes, utilising his experience with stained glass. Around 1895, Rouault discovered religion and became a Roman Catholic, which began a moralistic theme to his work. He often visited courts in Paris to find interesting subjects to paint. His later work featured prostitutes, clowns and depictions of Jesus Christ.
Near the end of his life, he burned 300 of his own works, citing the reason as that he would not be alive long enough to finish them. Rouault died at the age of 86 on 13 February, 1958 in his hometown of Paris. His artwork can be found at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London and many others.
