Rouault, n the land of Father Ubu

The exhibition will be an opportunity to highlight the artist's creative process, from the preparatory studies to the final realisations, and will emphasise the diversity of the techniques employed by Rouault.

In 1896, Alfred Jarry created the character of Ubu for his famous play Ubu roi, a revolutionary work that inaugurated the theatre of the absurd. In 1907, after Alfred Jarry's death, the renowned art dealer Ambroise Vollard, who knew the writer well, bought the right to exploit the character of Ubu. During the First World War, Ambroise Vollard wrote a whole series of sequels to Ubu roi (Le Père Ubu à l'hôpital, La politique coloniale du Père Ubu, Le Père Ubu à la guerre, Le Père Ubu au pays des soviets ...) which he grouped together in a sum: Les Réincarnations du Père Ubu.

Fascinated by art editions, he wishes to illustrate his text and turns to Georges Rouault, an artist with unclassifiable work close to the Fauvists. This large-scale project kept the painter busy until 1932, the date of the publication of Reincarnations.

He learns etching, experiments with various techniques, reworks the engravings with oil paint, pastels or Indian ink. Eternal dissatisfaction, he executes numerous studies and repeats each illustration several times. Rouault is passionate about the character of Ubu and makes him his own by creating various variants from his engravings. This project thus offers him great stylistic and technical freedom.

From 31/03 to 25/06/2023 except on 17/05 and May 1st. Closed on Monday. The museum will be open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am to 6 pm (closing at 5 pm on 31 March).

Full price : 4€ Reduced rate : 3€ for groups and students Free for children under 12 years old.

Programme culturel complet Rouault