L'Ebahi (The Surprised)

Georges Rouault

1871 - 1958

L'Ebahi (The Surprised)

c. 1948-52
Oil on unconfirmed support (reinforced by or transferred to a plywood-panel) with painted frame 39.7 x 25.6 cm (picture only); 60.8 x 46.8 (with frame)
Signed lower right: G.Rouault; Inscribed on back of frame : 1951 (?) / ...Pour petite Ceguette (?) / Rigolboche L'EBAHI
Donated by Mr. Ryuzaburo Umehara
P.1977-5

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This work is typical of Rouault's last years. Rouault's paintings did not undergo a huge change in terms of subject matter or painting style after the Second World War, but they did exhibit an increasingly thick application of paint. This "L'Ebahi" is thought to represent a clown, and here the clown does not exhibit the social irony or darkness seen in his earlier works and may represent the peaceful spirit of the artist's last years. This is a superb example of the type of face-only image which appears frequently in his later works.

(Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)