399 - Attributed to Georges Rouault, Biblical Landscape (Pastorale Chrétienne), oil painting c. 1940, discovered in storage, in its original, dated (16 April 1940) frame by Petter Malmqvist, Helsinki, Finland

Attributed to Georges Rouault, Biblical Landscape (Pastorale Chrétienne), oil painting c. 1940, discovered in storage, in its original, dated (16 April 1940) frame by Petter Malmqvist, Helsinki, Finland Georges Rouault, 1871 - Paris - 1958, attributed, French painter and graphic artist of Classical Modernism, here: A sparse landscape with rocks, tower-like houses with red domed roofs and figures at dusk with the moon rising, framed by white dots on a black background, impasto oil on cardboard, 30 x 40.5 cm, crackling/early shrinkage cracks in the sky, signed on the left, behind glass in the original frame, on the reverse of the cardboard a stamp from the glazier and framer Petter Malmqvist in Helsinki, active there at that address around 1936, here: stamp dated 16 April 1940, also the name W. Remmler/Hamina (Finnish island). Direct stylistic comparison: ‘Georges Rouault, 1871-1958, Coll. de la Ville de Paris’, catalogue raisonné no. 89 ‘Pastorale Chrétienne’ (1945)Georges Rouault and Finland: The connection between Georges Rouault and Finland is based primarily on the influence of his art on Finnish painters, his presence in the Finnish National Gallery (Kansallisgalleria) and the study of his works in Finnish exhibitions. Finnish art collections house significant works by Rouault. The collection of the Finnish National Gallery includes, inter alia, works such as: *The Clown* (1934), *Saint Veronica*, *The Holy Face* (1930), Christ and Pontius Pilate (Religious Art). Rouault’s expressive style, characterised by thick, black contrasts reminiscent of medieval church windows and a deep luminosity, demonstrably inspired Finnish artists. A well-known example is Helene Schjerfbeck (1862-1946). In the 1920s and 1930s, she studied reproductions of his works and incorporated his powerful line work into her own artistic language. Similarly, painters such as Tyko Sallinen (1879-1955), a leading figure of Finnish Expressionism, appreciated Rouault’s unpolished, material-focused and deeply spiritual style of painting.