This is one of a series of twenty-two prints which Rouault worked on between 1918 and 1928. They were commissioned by the art dealer Ambroise Vollard (1866 – 1939) to illustrate Reincarnations of Père Ubu (published 1932), his own sequel to Ubu Roi (Ubu the King), an infamous avant-garde play by Alfred Jarry (1873 – 1907) first performed in 1888. The illustrations also reflect Rouault’s personal spiritual and religious beliefs. A contemporary of Matisse, Rouault’s use of heavy, dark lines shows the influence of his earlier training as a maker of stained-glass.