Product Description

Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) emerged from humble circumstances - reflected in his nickname, "the customs official". An employee in the Paris customs bureau, Rousseau was an autodidact who incrementally worked his way into a position among the artists who were renewing the art world at the turn of the century. It was a difficult journey - for years the art world laughed at the layman's flat, icon-like figures, simple landscapes and, in his late phase, exotic jungle scenes. However his "naive" compositions in fact became an emblem that piqued the interest of the avant-garde. Rousseau's jungle paintings consisted of ornamental variations of plant leaves, among which he set brilliantly coloured predators, natives and naked beauties. In so doing, the artist evinced intuitive principles of design and compositions, which subsequent avant-garde artists had to work out for themselves with great effort. Ultimately winning recognition as an uncompromising modernist, Rousseau inspired comparison with Derain, Cezanne, Matisse and Gauguin. He became acquainted with Apollinaire, Delaunay, Picabia, Brancusi and other important figures; in 1908, Picasso held a legendary banquet in his honour. Today, "Rousseau's myth," a fascinating mixture of primitive idyll and flight from civilization, of concrete and abstract, holds a secure place in the history of art.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #622067 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Customer Reviews

¿Where is his jungle?
One of the greatest post impressionist artist. Some said he was part of the naïve movement but for me the "naive" Rousseau was the most "wise" man portraiting dreams. Paintings like "The dream" and "Sleeping Gypsy" deserve a winning award. This book is very hard to find. Finally I had to buy it from a third part because Amazon always had the tittle as not available. Get dizzy of pleasure by his perception and prepare not to get trapted inside HIS jungle.