Why is Georges Rouault’s Miserere a major work of printmaking?

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Mary Cassatt: Woman Bathing — Printmaking *Woman Bathing*, color aquatint with drypoint by Mary Cassatt, 1890–91; in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Georges Rouault’s Miserere is considered a masterpiece of printmaking because it represents the pinnacle of his work in the medium, created during a period when he devoted significant time to engraving at the instigation of the art dealer Ambroise Vollard.1

While Rouault is widely recognized as a painter, his work in printmaking—including Miserere—reflects his profound artistic evolution and his deep, personal engagement with themes of sin, suffering, and redemption. The series is notable for its technical complexity and its thematic alignment with his broader body of work, which often featured subjects such as prostitutes, tragic clowns, and judges—figures he viewed as having fallen from the grace of God.1

By illustrating Miserere with his own captions, Rouault solidified his status as a unique figure in the 20th-century school of Paris, blending his Expressionist style with a deeply personal religious conviction that distinguishes his contributions to the visual arts.1