The art minute
Henri Rousseau, the customs officer who became a master
- 14/05/2021
Henri Rousseau opened his eyes on the world in 1844 in Laval.
Born into a modest family, the son of a tinsmith tries unsuccessfully to law school before committing in the 51th Infantry Regiment of Angers to escape the reformatory after a theft.
Released by the army in 1868, he came to Paris where, after working as bailiffs clerk, he entered the Grant on the banks of the Seine.
This customs agency then collects taxes on goods sailing in the capital by the river.
Solitaire by force of circumstance, his two wives and eight of his nine children, Henri Rousseau is approaching forty years old when it comes to painting.
Born into a modest family, the son of a tinsmith tries unsuccessfully to law school before committing in the 51th Infantry Regiment of Angers to escape the reformatory after a theft.
Released by the army in 1868, he came to Paris where, after working as bailiffs clerk, he entered the Grant on the banks of the Seine.
This customs agency then collects taxes on goods sailing in the capital by the river.
Solitaire by force of circumstance, his two wives and eight of his nine children, Henri Rousseau is approaching forty years old when it comes to painting.
A STATIONARY PASSENGER
Without any artistic training or academic knowledge, Henri Rousseau became familiar with Art in the halls of the Louvre, where he obtained a copyist card.
When he traces his first brush strokes, he began producing artworks with high exotic content.
When he traces his first brush strokes, he began producing artworks with high exotic content.
Although he never really left Paris, his paintings mostly represent exuberant tropical jungles which are often staged animal fights between a beast and its prey.
Inspired by what he saw during his excursions in « Jardins des Plantes » and « Jardin d'Acclimation » in Paris or even in the colorful pages of botanical journals of his time, Henri Rousseau invents and dreams a world where he has been.
Inspired by what he saw during his excursions in « Jardins des Plantes » and « Jardin d'Acclimation » in Paris or even in the colorful pages of botanical journals of his time, Henri Rousseau invents and dreams a world where he has been.
SUNDAY PAINTER
In 1886, he appears for the first time at the Salon des Independants and exhibits four of his paintings.
Far from unanimous, Rousseau is critiziced for his frozen characters, his lack of perspective, his vivid colors, his awkwardness and childish naivete.
Called an amateur painter, a child or an insane, criticism even mock himself by using the nickname affectionately given by his friend and writer Alfred Jarry: Le Douanier Rousseau.
Far from being discouraged, he persisted, became friends with Robert Delaunay, Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso and continues his exhibitions at the Salon des Independents until he catches the eye of avant-garde painters.
Far from unanimous, Rousseau is critiziced for his frozen characters, his lack of perspective, his vivid colors, his awkwardness and childish naivete.
Called an amateur painter, a child or an insane, criticism even mock himself by using the nickname affectionately given by his friend and writer Alfred Jarry: Le Douanier Rousseau.
Far from being discouraged, he persisted, became friends with Robert Delaunay, Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso and continues his exhibitions at the Salon des Independents until he catches the eye of avant-garde painters.
NAIVE ART, SURREALISM, FAUVISM AND ABSTRACTION
At the end of his life, le Douanier Rousseau starts receiving positive reviews and it was after his death in 1910, at the age of 66 years, that his work was considered the founder of naive Art in particular.
This approach of painting is a style that does not meet the academic standards and the pictorial research of the time.
His colorful artworks also inspired the Fauvist as Derain and Matisse, his primitive faces were a based to surrealist and even Kandinsky, the father of abstraction, says about him :
"Henri Rousseau opened the way to new opportunities for simplicity."
His colorful artworks also inspired the Fauvist as Derain and Matisse, his primitive faces were a based to surrealist and even Kandinsky, the father of abstraction, says about him :
"Henri Rousseau opened the way to new opportunities for simplicity."
Henri Rousseau or how a modest customs officer inspired the great masters of modern art.
GUSTAVO ORTIZ, BETWEEN NAIVETY AND SURREALISM
From Argentina, Gustavo Ortiz fell into the world of art following a school trip where he attended a retrospective of the Catalan surrealist Joan Miró.
After studying art, he flies to Santiago where, for 7 years, he expresses his creative desires in his paintings.
An experience long enough to launch in Europe where he flew to London to pursue his artistic adventure.
His style is characterized by the force of colors, the clearness of edges and the use of collage as a main technique.
He paints reduced landscapes, populated by disproportionate characters or objects.
His paintings reveal elements of naïve Art punctuated with unexpected surrealism.
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