Henri Rousseau
Born – Laval, France 1844
Died – Paris, France 1910
Henri Rousseau gained his nickname “Le Douanier” because he began to paint while working for the Paris customs office. He retired from the service in 1885 and devoted his life to his art, producing naïve and direct paintings of great sophistication. Although untrained, Rousseau had great faith in his own abilities. From 1886, he exhibited almost every year at the Salon des Indépendants, a place where artists could show their work without being subjected to a selection procedure. Picasso was particularly impressed by his talent, holding a banquet in his honour in 1908. Rousseau’s paintings use flat, clear colours, which he sharply defined with a simplified outline. He is best known for his jungle scenes, which he claimed were the product of a trip to Mexico, but were more likely derived from studying animal and plant life at the zoo and the botanical gardens in Paris. The Snake Charmer is a late and accomplished work that, through its exotic mystery, reveals a more conscious side to his primitive art. The art he produced is captivating and features prominently wherever it is displayed. His interpretations of nature are immersive, and whether you're an artist or a party poker player, you'll find his use of colour intelligent and communicative. His attempts to portray the displays of the natural world were striking to even legendary Picasso, and this speaks volumes about Rousseau's talent. The furtive atmosphere is created through the presence of the unlikely inhabitant and the haunting stillness of the darkened mass of vegetation.
Masterpieces:
- Surprised! (Tropical Storms with a Tiger)
- The Sleeping Gipsy
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About henri rousseau
Rousseau (Basic Art)
Cornelia Stabenow
Buy on Amazon
Henri Rousseau
Philippe Buttner
Buy on Amazon
Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris
Buy on Amazon