Nu de Profil. Nude in Profile. by Georges Rouault, 1871-1958

Georges Rouault, 1871-1958
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Nu de Profil. Nude in Profile.

Original aquatint with some etching in colours. 1936. Signed with initials and dated '36 in the plate. From the edition of 250 impressions. (No impressions were pencil signed). Etched and printed at the studio of Lacourière, Paris 1936. Commissioned by Vollard in 1935. Intended to be issued in the series:'Les Fleurs du Mal. Edition never issued by Vollard as he died in 1939-issued post-war c.1950 Note:probably the most famous colour aquatint by Rouault.
Ref: I.Rouault - Georges Rouault L'Oeuvre Gravé no 274.

Superb rich impression with brilliant colours. On pale cream Montval wove paper. pristine condition. Full margins. Sheet: 17 1/2 x 13 3/8ins. Plate: 12 1/4 x 8 1/4ins.
312x210mm

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A superb impression with brilliant fresh colours of probably the most admired and beautiful image in Rouault?s graphic oeuvre.

In the mid 1920?s Rouault decided to make a series of prints inspired by the poems of the ?Fleurs du Mal? by Baudelaire. He was inspired by the dark symbolism of the poetry and saw in its imagery a parallel to his own sombre views of the moral decadence of the his society. A deeply religious man he sought to transcend the darkness of the social wilderness which he felt around him with a compositional style which borrows from the motifs of catholic art and in particular from the traditions of stained glass.

For the first series of ?Fleurs du Mal? compositions in 1926-27 Rouault worked in monochrome black and white, drawing a series of 14 images. At the beginning of the 1930?s he started work on a second series of prints, these were to be in colour. From an initial group of some 40 ideas he selected twelve images, including the magisterial ?Nu de Profil?. The flow of the bold aquatint brush strokes of black ink contains the glowing tones of the figure and the luminescent blues and greens of the background. The form of the nude is both sensual and at the same time penitent. It is an iconic expression of the message of Rouault?s art.

The edition of ?Nu de Profil? was printed by Lacourière, one of the greatest French intaglio plate printers of the first half of the century. He managed to capture with brilliant effect the quality of glowing light and intensity of tone which Rouault was seeking. The editions were completed in 1936. The series had been commissioned by Ambroise Vollard, Rouault?s dealer, but when he was killed in a car accident in 1939 they remained unissued. They were first released onto the market from the Vollard estate in the 1960?s.