GEORGES ROUAULT (1871–1958)

The artist’s family, France 

Bernard Dorival [text by] and Isabelle Rouault [catalogue compiled by], Rouault, L’œuvre peint, Volume II, Monaco: André Sauret, 1988, described and reproduced under reference 2553, p. 297

• Cent chefs-d'œuvre de Georges Rouault, Paris, Galerie Taménaga, 18 novembre 2021- 5 janvier 2022, n° inconnu 
• Georges Rouault and Japan, A shared Spirit and Sense of Art, Tokyo, Panasonic Shiodome Museum of Art, 11 avril-23 juin 2020, n°21

Born in Poland in 1905, Maria Lani moved to Paris in the late 1920s and became one of the most enigmatic figures of the artistic avant-garde. A model posing as a famous film actress, she quickly captivated the intellectual and artistic circles of Montparnasse, notably thanks to the support of Jean Cocteau, who helped make her a true muse of her time. Between 1928 and 1930, more than fifty major artists painted her portrait or created an image of her, including Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, André Derain and Man Ray. These works, brought together around the project – which was never completed – for a film entitled Le rêve d’un antiquaire, now constitute an exceptional record of the artistic networks of modern Paris. Georges Rouault painted her on at least four occasions in 1929, always smiling. For our portrait, the painter drew direct inspiration from a photograph of Maria Lani, taken around 1928 by Ernst Schneider (fig. 1). 

• Georges Rouault (1871–1958), Maria Lani, 1928, oil and gouache on paper, signed and dated lower right, 44 × 32.4 cm, Chicago, Art Institute, 1932.1086
• Ernst Schneider (1881–1959), Die Filmschauspielerin Maria Lani, c. 1928, silver bromide gelatin print, dimensions inc., location inc. (fig. 1)