Aquatint portrait signed by French artist George Pierrot (1871-1958).

 In a painted and gilded frame, with matting and glass cover.  

Rouault first came to prominence in 1905, when he displayed works at the exhibition that gave birth to the name Fauvism, a movement with which he shared an attraction to strong bold forms and striking color. Driven by deep religious convictions, Rouault was fascinated by those on the margins of society, and his works are filled with depictions of clowns, prostitutes, and theatrical characters. His highly personal technique, in which glowing colors are outlined with thick black was almost certainly inspired by his early apprenticeship to a painter of stained glass.