Expressionnisme

1903 · Best.-Nr. 13461 — 1903. Rouault Georges. whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Autograph Letter Signed circa 1903 a significant early document from the formative years of a central figure in modern French art that illuminates his transition from student of Symbolism to institutional guardian of Gustave Moreau's artistic legacy. Written on the eve of his departure from Paris and addressed to an unnamed correspondent the letter situates Rouault directly within the intellectual and pedagogical world of the École des Beaux-Arts and in close association with his mentor Gustave Moreau under whom he studied and to whom he remained profoundly devoted. Rouault writes with urgency "Dear sir I am leaving and I wanted to make absolutely sure that this will reach you and your cousin. Your cousin I am sure will be happy to have it" and refers explicitly to "the souvenirs you requested regarding the École des Beaux-Arts and on Gustave Moreau and others" requesting confirmation "before the end of the day so I can give them to you personally. I am leaving Paris for a while." Composed during a period of personal and artistic crisis between roughly 1902 and 1904 the letter documents Rouault at a pivotal juncture as he withdrew from Parisian life while consolidating his intellectual inheritance from Symbolism. Rouault Georges. Autograph Letter Signed. No place no date circa 1903. One page written on recto and verso approximately 8 1/4 x 10 5/8 inches entirely in Rouault's hand and signed "Georges Rouault." On the verso Rouault adds a revealing postscript that sheds light on his early curatorial and editorial concerns: "If you would prefer to keep the originals you can do this on the condition that it would be very exact copies and reviewed very carefully even if the brochure seems not in order as far as the syntax. aside from the spelling mistakes that you are authorized to correct." This language acquires particular historical weight in light of Rouault's appointment in 1902 as the first curator of the Musée Gustave Moreau established in Moreau's former residence and bequeathed to the French nation. The references to "originals" "exact copies" and an imperfect "brochure" strongly suggest his involvement in preparing or reviewing early institutional materials associated with the museum's formative years decades before his later publication Souvenirs Intimes in 1926. The letter therefore functions not merely as personal correspondence but as documentary evidence of Rouault's active role in shaping the posthumous reception of Moreau and the institutional consolidation of French Symbolism at the turn of the twentieth century. Minor handling wear and light natural aging to the paper; text remains fully legible with a clear well-preserved signature. Overall condition: very good. unknown books