A Spiritual Interpretation of the Vernacular: The Literary Sources of Georges Rouault

THE 1905 LAW OF SEPARATION of the Church and state in France was the inevitable outcome and culmination of the struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the Republican government that originated in the 1790s.¹ The hostility between the Church and the government intensified after 1879 with a series of legal measures that clearly demonstrated the state's intention to curb the powers of the clerics. Beyond its symbolic status as an institution of the ancien régime, the Church was suspected of promoting anti-Republican ideas because of its traditional Royalist support. The government made every attempt to end the Church's religious instruction and religious schools, which for centuries had served as a means of proselytizing the ideas and positions of the Church. A law passed in 1905 removed the influence of the Church from the minds of young students and resulted in fewer children growing up with religious education and fewer men aspiring to the ministry. Interestingly, this separation marked the beginning of a Catholic revival that witnessed a sudden growth of Catholic activism and political involvement, as well as a proliferation of Catholic literature written by significant authors who appealed to readers both of and outside the faith.²

It is within this historical context that a transformation of style and subject in the art of Georges Rouault (1871-1958) occurred.³ Between 1905 and 1910, Rouault focused and developed several stock images that he used repeatedly throughout his career. Rouault replaced his early biblical paintings, such as The Christ Jesus among the Doctors (1894) that earned him the Prix Chenavard, with images of prostitutes, clowns and the poor.⁴ Rouault not only changed his subject matter but also significantly altered his style. His previous academic style with Rembrandtesque tenebrism gave way to an avant-garde style that emphasized the arrangement of seemingly arbitrary lines and colors more than descriptive forms. The sudden change in his manner of painting shocked even Rouault himself, who described his works in terms of "outrageous lyricism."⁵ The radical transformation of Rouault's work pushed his friend, Léon Bloy, to accuse Rouault of departing from his faith and urge him to return to his earlier, more religious style.⁶

It is doubtful that his paintings of prostitutes, clowns, and the poor are results of Rouault's loss of faith. In fact, the opposite is more likely true. His early religious works date before his first communion in 1897, which is believed to be his first confession of faith.⁷ Shortly after he expanded his circle of Catholic artist friends, Rouault joined a budding artist colony established by the writer Huysmans. Huysmans had built a house near the monastery in Ligugé, France, to host a group of religious artists and writers devoting their time to prayer and art.⁸ Rouault's stay with Huysmans lasted a short six months because the 1901 Waldeck-Rousseau Law closed all unregistered religious institutions including their secluded monastery.⁹ Subsequently, Rouault painted ferocious figures, possibly stemming from his anger over the law. Rouault explained that from this point on he experienced a "moral crisis" and was unable to subdue the sense of outrage that had built up over the years and was fueled by other personal sufferings.¹⁰

Rouault's departure from Ligugé marked a new beginning for him. He settled in the heart of bohemian Montmartre in 1903. The stylistic change that occurred in his art reflected his new surroundings and his avant-garde environment. Having left the tutelage of his mentor, Gustave Moreau, under whom Rouault had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and who shunned modern art, Rouault was free to explore contemporary trends and experiment with new styles. Rouault developed his own way of liberating lines and colors that gave them substance and showed...