September 4-7, 2025
Nahmad Contemporary and Skarstedt are pleased to announce a focused retrospective of Georges Rouault (1871–1958) for Independent 20th Century, on view September 4–7, 2025, at Casa Cipriani in the historic Battery Maritime Building.
Spanning nearly half a century of the French modernist’s career, from 1908 to 1953, this presentation unites twenty extraordinary paintings, offering a rare opportunity to experience the full arc of Rouault’s uncompromising vision.
Rouault was a pivotal yet often overlooked figure in twentieth-century art. Trained by Symbolist master Gustave Moreau and initially associated with Expressionism and Fauvism, he ultimately forged a style entirely his own. Characterized by bold black contours, luminous color, and deep spiritual resonance, his work elevated marginalized figures - mournful clowns, spectral prostitutes, stoic judges, and meditative saints - with empathy and raw emotional power.
From the somber theatricality of his early years to the luminous radiance of his later work, Rouault’s oeuvre is anchored by a timeless moral conviction and a profound reverence for the human condition. Celebrated by dealers like Ambroise Vollard and Pierre Matisse and collected by major museums worldwide, he nonetheless occupies an enigmatic place in modern art history - one that is overdue for renewed attention.
Nahmad Contemporary and Skarstedt share a long-standing commitment to the emotional intensity, moral conviction, and formal innovation that define Rouault’s work, and are dedicated to advancing his legacy.
Their focused retrospective invites you to rediscover Rouault as a painter of conscience, whose relevance resonates now more than ever.