Christ aux Portes de la Ville (Frontispiece)
1935
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
aquatint in black (trial proof)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.17.264
Art Historical Context
Georges Rouault's *Christ aux Portes de Ville (Frontispiece, created in 1935, captures the French artist's deep Catholic faith and social commentary through a stark, evocative image. As a frontispiece—likely designed for a book—this aquatint print depicts Christ at the city gates, symbolizing themes of redemption and judgment amid urban modernity. Rouault, a key figure in early 20th-century Expressionism roots in Fauvism, often drew from religious mysticism and the harsh realities of contemporary life, influenced by his apprenticeship under stained-glass master Gustave Moreau. Rendered in bla...
About the Artist
Georges Rouault
Georges-Henri Rouault was born on May 27, 1871, in a Paris cellar during the violent "Bloody Week" of the Paris Commune, when a stray shell destroyed his family's home in the working-class Belleville district. Raised by a carpenter father who worked at the Pleyel piano factory and a grandfather who collected prints by Honoré Daumier, Rembrandt, Courbet, and Manet, Rouault showed early artistic pro...