Georges ROUAULT

(1871 - Paris – 1958)

Bella matribus detestata [War, hated by mothers] – 1922/1948

Etching, aquatint, drypoint and roulette over photogravure on Arches heavy laid paper with “Ambroise Vollard” watermark. Plate XLII from the Miserere portfolio, printed by Jacquemin in 1922, published in 1948 by Société d'Edition L'Etoile Filante. Edition of 425. Signed and dated in the plate.

Size of sheet: 65.3 x 50.5 cm.

Chapon & Rouault 95; Johnson 121.

Georges Rouault: Bella matrices detestata

Richly inked impression on a full sheet. Repaired tear (around 2cm) in the top margin (not affecting the image), browning of paper verso.

This striking image shows a Madonna and Child, Mary looking into the eyes of her son, knowing what his fate will eventually be, while the title references the Roman poet Horace’s Odes (Book 1, verses 24-25).

Georges Rouault was commissioned by art dealer Ambroise Vollard (1866 – 1939) to make this piece as a part of the Miserere (Misery) Series in 1916 (during WWI). It was officially published only in 1948, almost 10 years after the tragic death of Vollard. In the justification of the edition it is noted that the work was “printed by Jacquemin, master-printer in Paris, from 1922 to 1927 under the initiative of Ambroise Vollard, and conserved by him until his death”. All plates were cancelled after printing.

Georges Rouault: Bella matrices detestata

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