Portrait of Clemenceau

The subject of this portrait, Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929), was a famous statesman of good repute active during the Third Republic. He acted as prime minister during World War I and as a member of the Radical Party. Clemenceau was known for his indomitable fighting spirit which led to the conservative party giving him the appropriate nickname of Tiger. He also was the author of numerous volumes and known as a literary figure enamored of art. He was in close contact with various artists, including the Impressionists, and in addition to Carrière, his portrait was painted by several artists such as Manet (1879) and Rodin (1911). Clemenceau was also well known for his extensive and now dispersed collection of Japanese woodblock prints and decorative arts. Carrière, in addition to his paintings of religious and literary subjects, left many portraits of his close friends. No matter what the subject, he always covered his painting surface with his distinctively mystical, otherworldly sensibility which still had a form of realism at its heart. In these works Carrière's magical color harmonies marvelously and accurately reproduce the sitter's features and beard, while lending a uniquely magical, poetic sensibility to their actual forms. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 95)