HENRI ROUSSEAU by: Jeremy Torralba
“Nothing makes me so happy as to observe nature and to paint what I see.”
Artist movement, brief explanation: Rousseau was a French Post-Impressionist painter. This movement focused on
emotional expression. Artists of this movement wanted to deviate from Impressionistic traits but they were very independent and
experimental in their artworks. Not like the Impressionists who focused so much on the accuracy of light and its effects on colour.
Historical context: This movement influenced its artists to express their emotions through their own experimental art styles.
Artist’s importance in art history: He developed his own personal style. Which people at the time criticised. His style
was considered naive and primitive. Because of his limited technical knowledge in art, his artworks seemed innocent, free, dreamlike and
fantastical. He was admired by artists such as Picasso, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, who considered him the godfather-of twentieth-century
painting. And with his confident and expressive style he helped to usher in the Expressionistic and Surrealism movements.
Which artists influenced the artist’s characteristics and how: Rousseau was a self-taught artist. He
taught himself by viewing and imitating artworks from museums in Paris. But Rousseau was inspired by artists such as Jean Leon
Gerome and William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Rousseau was only advised by those two artists as he tried to learn from their academic
styles, some similarities could be seen between Rousseau and Gerome in terms of subject matter, one example is the use of lions like the
one from Gerome’s Lion Snapping at a Butterfly. In addition, Rousseau could have been inspired by Gerome’s dreamlike and fantastical
painting, like The Day of the Last Judgement. Rousseau also utilized Bougeureau’s satin like finishes like his First Kiss, landscape.
WilliamAdolphe
Bougeureau,
First Kiss,
landscape.
Jean-Leon Gerome,
Lion Snapping at a
Butterfly, 1889.
\
Jean- Leon Gerome, The
Day of the Last
Judgement.
Henri Rousseau,
The Sleeping Gypsy,
1897.
He was also inspired by the jungle setting. So much so that he looked at books about nature and visited zoos and botanical gardens in
Paris.
Henri Rousseau, Exotic
Landscape, 1908.
Henri Rousseau, Two Monkeys in
the Jungle.
The Artist’s characteristics:
- Innocence of technique
- Naïve and primitive
- Dreamlike and fantastical
Henri Rousseau, the Sleeping Gypsy, 1897.
Henri Rousseau, Surprised! (or Tiger in a Tropical
Storm) 1891.
Innocence of technique – Not very
realistic, the tiger’s face and its right leg, which does
not press down the leaves on the ground
completely.
Naive and primitive – Made up of
basic shapes, shapes are visible and defined.
Dreamlike and fantastical – The
painting’s rightward-motion makes it look like it is
actually in motion.
Story -The title says it all the surprise is the
tiger that is about to pounce. According to Rousseau
and his letters, the tiger has the upper hand hence
the title, the outcome of the scene is left to the
viewer.
Henri Rousseau, the Dream, 1910.
Innocence of technique – All his
figures are very stylistic, especially the figure of the
naked woman. The woman’s face is not realistic or
proportionate.
Naive and primitive – The shapes of
the flowers and leaves are very consistent. Also the
figure of the woman is not realistic, especially the
proportions of her face.
Dreamlike and fantastical – The
painting has a very inviting look, from the naked
woman’s hand gestures to the variety of wildlife that
make up the colourful background.
Story – According to Rousseau’s letters the
woman in this painting is Yadwigha, one of
Rousseau’s Polish mistresses. She is lying down on
the “divan” or low couch. Rousseau put her in this
very surreal jungle setting.
Innocence of technique –
The figures of the lion and the woman are
not very realistic and proportionate. An
example of this is the lion’s eye which
should be lower and more indented into
its head. Another example is the woman’s
legs, her legs should be proportionate to
the length of her arms, should be longer.
Naive and primitive – Very
simplistic in detail, the lion’s mane is
mainly composed of lines much like the
woman’s dress, even though this painting
is limited in detail, it makes up for it with
its hypnotic colour composition
Dreamlike and
fantastical – Its richness in colour,
hard lines, and flat perspective make it
pop, look magical and dreamlike,
especially with its night-time setting.
Story – According to Rousseau, the
woman with the mandolin (stringinstrument) beside her is in deep sleep.
And the lion who appears to be preying on
her is actually just sniffing her and has no
intent of eating her.
Works Cited:
Brommer, Gerald F. Discovering Art History. Third ed. Worcester, Massachusetts: Davis Publications,
Inc., 1997. Print.
"Henri Julien Rousseau Biography." Henri Julien Rousseau Biography. The Complete Works,
2002. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.<http://www.henrirousseau.net/>.
"Henri Julien Félix Rousseau." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web.
06 Oct. 2014.http:<//www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/rousseau/>.
"Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.<http://www.theartstory.org/artist-
rousseau-henri.htm>.
Kilaman, Kamelia. "The Sleeping Gypsy: A Painting before Its Time." Culture at Kamelia.
Culture Kamelia, n.d. Web. 06 Oct.
2014.<http://cultureatkamelia.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/a-sea-of-artful-
unity/>.