Three Clowns

From the age of fourteen, Georges Rouault studied with stained-glass fabricators and restorers in Paris; this practice had great resonance in his later work, in which dark outlines and jewel-like colors predominate. He also studied alongside Henri Matisse, and with him was one of the artists known as the “Fauves,” or wild beasts, due to the bright colors and forceful juxtapositions in their works.

This painting is a preliminary sketch for the artist’s large Wounded Clown of circa 1933 that was used as a cartoon to produce a tapestry, and is related to other works by Rouault.