Painter Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) was self-taught and had a very short artistic career. Although he created about 123 artworks, he is generally remembered for the more than 25 so-called “Henri Rousseau Jungle Paintings.”
His fame is closely linked to these animal and nature paintings. They are also regarded as his most exotic paintings.
In this article, we’ll briefly tell you more about the painter Henri Rousseau’s life and then discuss the exotic landscapes created during the last years of his art career. Many art lovers regard these paintings as the best Henri Rousseau paintings.
The Painter Henri Rousseau – His Life
World-famous painter Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) was born in France. Although Henri was mediocre in most of his high school subjects, he won many prizes for drawing and music. After high school, he started to study law but didn’t complete his studies. He joined the army in 1863.
After Rousseau’s father had died in 1868, he left the army and moved to Paris to support his mother. In 1868, he married his landlord’s daughter. They had nine children, of which eight died of tuberculosis. In 1871, he became the Collector of Taxes on goods entering Paris. After his first wife had died in 1888, he married Josephine Noury in 1898.
He only started painting seriously when he was about 40 years of age. In the 1890s, he retired from his tax collector’s job to work exclusively on his art. His promising career ended when he was admitted with gangrene in his leg to a hospital in Paris in August 1910, and after an operation died on 2 September 1910.
Rousseau always considered nature itself as his only teacher. But although he didn’t receive any formal training as a painter, he received “advice” from Felix Auguste-Clement and Jean-Leon Gerome, and two established Academic painters. Because he was self-taught, Henri Rousseau’s art has always been considered by art historians as created by a naive or primitive painter.
All about Henri Rousseau’s Art
During the last years of Henri Rousseau’s career, he mostly painted exotic landscapes. Most of his paintings from the last phase in his career are characterised by exotic plant growth painted in exceptional detail. Art historians believe the different leaf forms depicted in the paintings are based on plants he learned at the botanical gardens in Paris.
Looking at these exotic Henri Rousseau paintings, you can see that while each leaf is painted separately and in detail, all the branches and leaves simultaneously form part of an abstract pattern. Another typical aspect of these exotic landscapes is that, usually, a dramatic incident takes place in the centre of the painting, like a lion attacking its prey. Generally, there are also colourful birds flying around in the exotic vegetation. One of the first major works during this period of Rousseau’s career is “The Hungry Lion.”
One of his last works is “The Dream.” Most art scholars and art lovers agree that “The Dream” is one of his most ambitious exotic jungle paintings. The work was completed in 1910. Rousseau applied all his expressive and descriptive skills to create this exotic fantasy picture.
“The Hungry Lion” – an Example of Rousseau’s exotic Landscapes
This painting’s full name is “The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope” and was created in 1905. Rousseau based the pair of animals in his landscape on a diorama of stuffed animals, “Senegal Lion Devouring an Antelope,” he had seen at the National Museum of Natural History.
“The Hungry Lion” is depicted in a jungle scene of thick green vegetation with a deep red setting sun in the background. The focus is on a lion biting deeply into the neck of an antelope. Other animals are also visible in the undergrowth.
A panther watches from the side, and an owl with a bloody strand of meat in its beak is staring at the scene. You can also see a second bird to the left and dark ape-like shape eyes lurking to the left.
“Exotic Landscape” – a further example of Rousseau’s exotic Landscapes
Exotic Landscape – Henri Julien Rousseau
This exotic landscape painting was created by Henri Rousseau in 1908. This painting shows different themes of wildlife and nature fused with mystery and serenity.
To highlight individual aspects of nature in detail, Rousseau used different shades of green, orange, red, yellow, blue, black, grey, and white. The broad leaves and grasses in this landscape painting are also asymmetrical to the size and length of the trees. The red-blue bird in the middle of the painting forms a focal point. There is also a monkey on a nearby branch.
Several other monkeys are hidden from clear view, enjoying the orange fruits hanging on nearby trees. This painting emphasises the inherent harmony and tranquillity of all species. The sky takes up the major portion of the background.
“The Dream” – another Example of Rousseau’s exotic Landscapes
“The Dream” features Rousseau’s mistress from his youth, lying naked on a divan. She looks at an exotic landscape of lush vegetation, including lotus flowers. There are also birds and animals in the jungle. In the picture, you’ll find exotic monkeys, a lion and lioness, an elephant, and a snake.
Rousseau composed the landscape in such a way that the nude’s left arm reaches toward the lions and a black snake charmer plays his flute. The snake slithers through the plants and reflects the woman’s curves on the divan.
Rousseau suspected that some viewers would not understand the painting, so he wrote a poem to accompany the painting. In the poem, it is explained that the woman on the sofa has fallen asleep, and in her dream, she hears the snake charmer’s music and realizes that all the flowers, animals, and even the snake are listening to the joyous tunes of the charmer’s flute.
“The Dream” illustrates Rousseau’s freedom from artistic convention. He mixed the typical reclining nude of classicism with modern folk art.
Conclusion
Although Rousseau created most of his exotic jungle landscapes during his last years, they are the paintings that made him famous. Interestingly, Rousseau had never been in or near a jungle and wild animals. For more information, you can search online for a list of Henri Rousseau’s Jungle paintings.