Georges Rouault

Henri Matisse, Paris (acquired directly from the artist)
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York (acquired from the above)
Mr. & Mrs. Henry J. Heinz II, Pennsylvania
Private Collection
Sale: Christie’s, New York, May 12, 1992, lot 128
Private Collection, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Paris, Galerie La Licorne, Rouault, 1920
New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture Collected by Yale Alumni, 1960, no. 197
New York, Mitchell-Inness & Nash, Georges Rouault: Judges, Clowns and Whores, 2007, no. 22, illustrated in the catalogue

Lionello Venturi, Rouault, Paris, 1948, no. 53, illustrated pl. 46
Bernard Dorival & Isabelle Rouault, Rouault, L'Oeuvre peint, vol. I, Monaco, 1988, no. 532, illustrated p. 156

This work is in excellent condition. Executed on buff wove paper mounted on canvas. The edges are taped. The sheet is not laid down and is slightly undulating at the lower right corner. There are 2 pindot losses at the center of the top edge and two other pindot losses at the edge of the lower left corner. Otherwise, fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Rouault’s apprenticeship as a stained glass artisan is evident in his beautiful rendering of Acrobates XIII. He articulates the acrobats with bold, black lines—reminiscent of the soldered cement conjoining glass panes—and in keeping with his works of this period, uses swaths of expressionistic brushstrokes and voluminous colors for the figures. With buckled knees and hunched shoulders, the primary figure occupies the full margins of the composition, giving him a larger-than-life expansiveness. Rouault strategically uses the light that shines upon them to accentuate the immense musculature of the figures, underscoring the artist’s admiration for the rigors of their field while distinguishing them from their obscure, dark surroundings that hearken to the more medieval sensibility of his earlier career.

Rouault’s interest in the world of the circus were based on his own childhood memories, which he spoke about fondly: "Acrobats and horsewomen, sparkling or passive clowns, tightrope walkers and freaks, and my friends, color and harmony, since my earliest childhood I have been in love with you" (quoted in Bernard Dorival & Isabelle Rouault, op. cit., p. 153).

Acrobates XIII was first owned by his close friend and contemporary Henri Matisse, who, like Rouault, was under the tutelage of the Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Their styles evolved alongside each other; the influence of Matisse's use of color is evident in Rouault's work, and Rouault's strong use of line in Matisse's (see fig. 3).