Gérard Garouste's 'L'intranquille': A Painter's Reckoning with His Father's Wartime Past

In a rare act of public confession, acclaimed French painter Gérard Garouste, with Judith Perrignon, publishes 'L'intranquille' (Éditions L'Iconoclaste), an autobiography that reveals his father was a spoliator of Jewish property during World War II. Garouste analyzes how this family history contributed to his stays in psychiatric hospitals. The book offers precise, nuanced biographical insights into the origins of his work, including the figure of the Indian and his taste for enigmas, formed during stays with an adoptive family. It portrays a complex father-son relationship, avoiding pure hatred. However, critic Catherine Millet notes that Garouste's rejection of Catholicism and passion for Judaism lack subtlety, condemning the Church wholesale while ignoring many Catholic families' impeccable wartime conduct. She points out his oversight of Catholic dogma, such as the Holy Trinity, in his contrast of Jewish and Christian conceptions of God.