The Dwarf

The Dwarf — Georges Rouault. 1937.

Medium: Oil on paper, lined to canvas. Dimensions: 69.2 × 50 cm (27 1/4 × 19 3/4 in.).

Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Although Georges Rouault is perhaps best known for his religious imagery, he also painted characters living on the fringes of society. Drawing on the work of such artists as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Edgar Degas , Rouault often depicted circus performers; their tragic-comic essence allowed him to sympathetically comment on the complexities of the human condition. The Dwarf , along with many of Rouault’s other paintings from this period, began as a work on paper that the artist mounted onto canvas during its making and continued to work. This unusual process, in addition to the application of several uneven layers of thick and colorful paint, allowed Rouault to achieve highly expressive effects.

Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.