Rating and value of paintings by Ker-Xavier Roussel

If you own a work by or after Ker-Xavier Roussel, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services. Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its current market value. Thereafter, if you wish to sell your work, we will guide you towards the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of the artist Ker-Xavier Roussel    

The artist Ker-Xavier Roussel leaves behind a unique body of work, composed mainly of paintings of the Nabi movement. Now, prices for his works are rising under auctioneers' gavels. His paintings are highly prized, especially by French buyers. The price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €20 to €144,825, a very substantial range but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Roussel's works. In 2018, a landscape painting entitled La danse, done in oil on isorel sold for €61,000 while it was estimated at between €8,000 and €10,000.

Order of value from a single work to the most prestigious

Style and technique by artist Ker-Xavier Roussel    

Roussel belongs to the Nabis group, a group of post-impressionist painters from the very late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a precursory group in which attributes of Fauvism can be discerned. The painter worked on the representation of bodies and the relationship to their reality, but also on the depiction of landscapes where we dissociate some elements of Impressionism.

Ker-Xavier Roussel and Nabi painting

Ker-Xavier Roussel (1867-1944) was a 20th-century French painter, renowned for his Postimpressionist and Fauvist works. He was born near Metz, but the defeat by Prussia soon led his family to move. He lived with his father and brother in Paris. He attended the Lycée Condorcet, where he met Édouard Vuillard, who became his friend and brother-in-law. It was at the same school that he also met Maurice Denis, a painter who would follow in his footsteps. The three artists were to become prominent members of the Nabi group, sharing their pictorial reflections and their work on different painting techniques and perspective.

The Nabi group was formed at the Académie Julian, highly innovative for its time, and Roussel was part of it from the start. With Paul Sérusier, the group's leader, he creates sets for the Théâtre de Chaillot. He goes on to exhibit his paintings at the Salon des artistes indépendants and at Libre Esthétique in Brussels. He travels with Maurice Denis to the Côte d'Azur to visit Paul Signac and Paul Cézanne. However, he did not give up decor painting, and participated in worksites until the end of his career, notably with Vuillard. He excelled in this discipline and was in great demand, knowing how to go from a fairly small support to an opera ceiling in a short time, which gives an idea of his uncommon talent.

He died at his home at the age of 76, probably of natural causes.

Ker-Xavier Roussel's imprint on his period

The artist is not well known to the general public today, with other artists such as Paul Sérusier standing out more. However, he contributed to the formation and evolution of the Nabis group, and is a painter forgotten by his contemporaries.

He remains a prized artist at auction among enthusiasts and collectors of Nabis works, which are increasingly in demand at auction. It is therefore highly likely that the artist's value will increase over the next few years.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Not all of Ker-Xavier Roussel's works are signed. They may be at the bottom of the painting, but if you think you own one, it's best to have it appraised to be sure of the originality of your property.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by or after Ker-Xavier Roussel, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using our form on our website. A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it. If you wish to sell your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives to sell it at the best possible price, taking into account the inclinations of the market.