Gérard GAROUSTE — Rare triptych “L’Ecclésiaste”. 1996 — Edition of 50. Signed and numbered 35/50

Important original colour lithograph conceived as a narrative triptych, a major subject in the artist’s œuvre.

The composition is arranged around a pared-down central panel featuring an elongated, hieratic figure (evoking the world of Don Quixote or the Preacher), flanked by two expressionist scenes in powerful tones of ochres, dark earths and deep blacks.  

The work bears witness to Garouste’s fascination with sacred texts and the Hebrew language, incorporating two handwritten philosophical passages drawn from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes (signed with its Hebrew name, Gohélet / Qohélet):  

On the left (Gohélet I, 17): “And I have seen life, on a day evil for me, is the work that has been done under the sun, for all is vanity and a chasing after the wind.”  

On the right: “For who remembers the wise man with the fool for ever, since in the days to come all is already forgotten. And how shall the wise man die with the fool.”  

Institutional reference: A similar impression from this same edition is held in the national collections of the Centre Pompidou / Musée National d’Art Moderne (inventory no.: AM 2022-64).  

Original colour lithograph on heavy wove paper.  

Numbered 35 / 50 in pencil (a very confidential edition of just 50 impressions).  

Signed with the official “MG” monogram in pencil by the artist in the lower right.      

Excellent state of preservation, with a very fine freshness of pigments.  

Museum framing: Exceptional bespoke presentation carried out by a leading Parisian atelier.

Float mount in a box frame: The work is fixed in a reversible manner, revealing the entirety of the deckled edges of the paper.   Cherrywood box-profile moulding, neutral conservation backing and museum-quality glass (anti-reflective and UV-protective).