| Brief biography
available at Web
Museum
Rousseau, Henri -- known as Le
Douanier Rousseau (1844-1910). French painter who is one of the most celebrated of naïve
(untrained) artists.
His nickname refers to the job he held with the
Paris Customs Office (1871-93), although he never actually rose to the
rank of `Douanier' (Customs Officer). Before this he had served in the
army, and he later claimed to have seen service in Mexico, but this story
seems to be a product of his imagination. He took up painting as a hobby
and accepted early retirement in 1893 so he could devote himself to art.
His character was extraordinarily ingenuous and he
suffered much ridicule (although he sometimes interpreted sarcastic
remarks literally and took them as praise) as well as enduring great
poverty. However, his faith in his own abilities never wavered. He tried
to paint in the academic manner traditionalist artists, but it was the
innocence and charm of his work that won him the admiration of the
avant-garde: in 1908 Picasso gave a banquet, half serious half burlesque,
in his honor. Rousseau is now best known for his jungle scenes, the first
of which is Surprised!
(Tropical Storm with a Tiger) (National Gallery, London, 1891)
and the last The Dream (MOMA, New York, 1910). These two
paintings are works of great imaginative power, in which he showed his
extraordinary ability to retain the utter freshness of his vision even
when working on a large scale and with loving attention to detail. He
claimed such scenes were inspired by his experiences in Mexico, but in
fact his sources were illustrated books and visits to the zoo and
botanical gardens in Paris.
His other work ranges from the jaunty humor of The
Football Players (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1908) to the
mesmeric, eerie beauty of The
Sleeping Gypsy (MOMA, 1897). Rousseau was buried in a pauper's
grave, but his greatness began to be widely acknowledged soon after his
death.
(This biography is from Web
Museum)
Sites where photographs were retrieved are no longer on line.
|
Henri Rousseau Self Portrait
|
| Featured works:
Exotic Landscape 1908 Combat
of Tiger with a Water Buffalo 1908 Woman
in an Exotic
These
come from Mark Harden's Artchive
Forest
1905
|
| Links
on the Web
Mark
Harden's Artchive: Henri
Rousseau Essay: "Rousseau and His Time" from work by
Micheal Hoog. Images
is chronological order - click on title to view. Use the Image Viewer
to study the much larger full-sized image. The Image Viewer allows you to
resize the image to fit your screen.
Tropical
Forest with Monkeys, Boy
on the Rocks, Equatorial
Jungle, Rendezvous
in the Forest National Gallery of Art. Study the individual
details - or click painting to see larger views.
Henri
Rousseau- Jungles in Paris National Gallery of Art
Web
Museum Biography of Henri Rousseau—view
some of his work (thumbnails link to larger images) Scroll down to read
more about Henri Rousseau - "Art of the Fantastic".
Henri
Rousseau National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Brief
biography. See the Wedding
Party. Flash
Interactive Story available. Looking at the style and techniques used
by an artist can give us an insight into what the artist was trying to
achieve. This animated story investigates the style and
technique of artist Henri Rousseau.
Henri
Rousseau Guggenheim Collection - brief biography. Two
works in the collection. Click on painting to see largest view.
The
Dream of Henri Rousseau A personal web site designed by Jean Marc
Vogal. Use this site to see additional
images. Other sources given have better biographical information.
In
a Tropical Forest: Fight Between a Tiger and a Bull, from The Hermitage at St.
Petersburg -- Carol Gerten Fine Art. Compare
this to the image
on Mark Harden's site. Now compare to the painting, Fight
Between a Tiger and a Buffalo, at the Cleveland Museum of Art -
Sister Wendy critiques
Henri
Rousseau Online: Artcyclopedia See more works
in major museums throughout the world.
Wikipedia
Biography of Henri Rousseau - Word of caution - verify facts (anyone
can edit Wikipedia articles). Books for further study are listed. More
biographical information can be found at Tate
Modern - see Life and Times and sources of inspiration.
Henri Rousseau -
from Art Burst.com This site has twelve images -- but has very annoying
banner ads.
"Foliage"
by Riverdale Ensemble A tribute
album to Henri Rousseau. -- features Rousseau's
"Clemence Waltz" and interpretations of three of
Rousseau's works of art, "Merry Jesters," "Carnival
Evening," and "Sleeping Gypsy."
Dropping
in on Rousseau Video. A
cleverly animated video of the artist Henri Rousseau for young
viewers. A bird, Puffer, in an entertaining manner, interviews
Rousseau giving him the opportunity to explain how he developed his
unique style of painting birds, animals, and plant life after viewing
them at the Paris Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Rousseau describes some
of his paintings as actual examples are shown.
Written by Pam Stephens and animations by Jim McNeill.
Lessons
and Activities Lesson
ideas on Incredible Art Department Jungle
Interactive from
National Gallery of Art. Create an imaginary landscape with NGAkids
JUNGLE. Mix and match the colorful characters, control the environment
by changing weather and lighting conditions, or construct flowers,
trees, and plants using
special tools.
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