Georges Rouault

(Paris 1871 - 1958 Paris)

Rouault trains as a glass painter in 1885–1890, then enrolls at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, where Gustave Moreau becomes his teacher in 1891. In 1903, he is appointed curator of the Musée Gustave Moreau and helps found the Salon d’Automne. Between 1906 and 1912, he decorates ceramics created by André Metthey, who introduces him to Ambroise Vollard and Odilon Redon. He has his first solo exhibition at Galerie Druet in Paris in 1910, and sends works to the second exhibition of the “Munich New Artists’ Association.” The encounter with the writer André Suarès in 1911 is the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Until 1912, Rouault paints almost exclusively in watercolors and gouaches on paper. In 1913, Vollard buys up his entire “studio”; in 1917, the gallery owner and the artist sign an exclusive contract. Beginning in 1917, Rouault builds a sizable graphic oeuvre, including the cycles Miserere and Passion. His earliest oil paintings date from 1918. Between 1930 and 1939, he makes works in larger formats, including biblical landscapes. In 1945, he designs five stained-glass windows for the church at Assy. Designs for works in enamel date from 1949.