Christ au Faubourg (Christ in the Outskirts of the City), plate 1 from The Passion suite by André Suarès, edited by Ambroise Vollard, 1935 (published 1939)

Original color etching and aquatint on Montval paper, edition of 200 , 12 × 8 ¼ in. (30.5 × 21 cm)

On loan from a private collection

Designed in Rouault's signature style of bold black contour lines, this work depicts Christ amongst the common people in Faubourg, a poor, factory-ridden city quarter in France. Rouault clouds the sky with smoke, and places the tall factory pillars at the center of the composition as four, foreboding vertical lines. In the lower part of the composition, people walk with heads bowed in a state of despair. Christ, the tallest figure in white, appears to comfort the masses, providing a sense of hope despite their miserable living conditions. 

Created in 1935, this original color etching and aquatint was printed on watermarked "verge de Montval" cream colored laid paper. One of seventeen aquatints for André Suarès book of poems Passion. This work was printed by Roger Lacouriere, Paris and published by Ambroise Vollard. Signed in the plate with the artist's monogram, 'GR 1935' in black in the lower left side of the image and hand-signed by Georges Rouault (Paris, 1871- Paris, 1958) in bluish black ink in the lower right margin. This work is a rare, ink-signed progressive proof in black and grey; it is our belief that this proof accompanied the edition of 40 black ink impressions (from the total edition of 270).