Henri Rousseau, 1844-1910

What do you think?

This term, Year Four have been exploring the works of the post-impressionist artist, Henri Rousseau. In particular, his works that were inspired by his time spent at the Botanical Gardens in Paris from which he imagined rainforest and jungle-themed  pieces. Some critics didn’t like his work as they said that it was unrealistic and childish. Rousseau painted in a ‘modern naive’ style and his work was admired by other well respected artists such as Pablo Picasso. Year Four found out about Henri’s life and self taught style of painting and were encouraged to share their opinions of his works, this is what we  thought….  

The Merry Jesters, 1906, On display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA.

Evie W thought that “the animals that Rousseau painted look quite like a cartoon.” She commented that she liked the shades that he used to create the vegetation. 

The Snake Charmer, 1907, on display at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Ella C explained ” I like the colours used in the sky and the plants that are at the front of the painting. The shapes of the leaves are good as he has used lots of different types of leaves.”

The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope, 1905

“It looks okay but the I think the lion looks slightly green!” commented Jay.

Ethan S said  “It is a cool painting and its got lots of shades of green. I like that it is very ‘rainforesty’.”

 

Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!) (1891) was the first of many jungle scenes for which Rousseau is best known.

Jessica B “I love the stripes on the tiger, it makes me think of my bedroom as I’ve got animal wall paper all around it! I love the leaves as they reminded me of my trip to Knowsley Safari Park”.