Collection: Rousseau
1844-1910
Henri Rousseau (May 21, 1844 – September 2, 1910) was a French post-impressionist painter, known for his distinctive "naïve" style, characterized by bright colors, bold outlines, and dreamlike jungle scenes, despite never having left France. He was also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer), a humorous description of his occupation as a toll and tax collector. His notable works include The Sleeping Gypsy (1897), The Dream (1910), and Tiger in a Tropical Storm (1891). Rousseau was largely self-taught and faced criticism from academic artists for his lack of formal training. He worked as a customs officer while pursuing painting in his spare time, often depicting fantastical landscapes inspired by his imagination rather than real-world observations. Though initially ridiculed by critics and peers, his work gained recognition later in life, especially among avant-garde artists including Pablo Picasso, Vasily Kandinsky, and Frida Kahlo. Rousseau's art had a lasting influence on both Surrealism and Modernism.
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Myself, Portrait-Landscape ☷ Rousseau ☰ Canvas
Myself, Portrait-Landscape (1890, Moi-même, portrait-paysage) by Henri Rousseau is a self-portrait titled to claim equal status between the typically distinct genres of portraits and landscapes. Rousseau is wearing the insignia of the Ordre des Palmes académiques as a buttonhole pin, which was ➵◰ Canvas Prints ⧈ Framed Prints
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Carnival Evening ☰ Rousseau ☴ Canvas
Carnival Evening (1886) by Henri Rousseau depicts a couple dressed in carnival costumes, standing in front of a barren forest. The figures almost seem to glow as the moonlight behind them leaves the forest in total darkness. A strange face stares out ➵◰ Canvas Prints ⧈ Framed Prints
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Tiger in a Tropical Storm ☳ Rousseau ☵ Canvas
Tiger in a Tropical Storm or Surprised! (1891) by Henri Rousseau is the first of the jungle paintings for which he is primarily known. It depicts a tiger stalking its prey during a raging storm, illuminated by a flash of lightning. As ➵◰ Canvas Prints ⧈ Framed Prints
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Ship in the Storm ☵ Rousseau ☳ Canvas
Ship in the Storm (1899, Navire dans la Tempête) by Henri Rousseau appears to be based on a combination of different ships, featuring portholes like an ocean liner, and a cutwater like a battleship. Rough gray waves and darkened sky contrast with ➵◰ Canvas Prints ⧈ Framed Prints
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A Centennial of Independence ☳ Rousseau ☵ Canvas
A Centennial of Independence (1892) by Henri Rousseau commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first French Republic formed in 1792. Peasants dance the farandole, a popular southern French dance, around three liberty trees with two female figures representing the First and Third ➵◰ Canvas Prints ⧈ Framed Prints
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Indian Struggling with a Gorilla ☳ Rousseau ☵ Canvas
Tropical Landscape: American Indian Struggling with a Gorilla (1910) by Henri Rousseau is emblematic of his characteristically inaccurate depictions and mixing of exotic peoples, animals and plant life. It depicts an American Indian fighting a gorilla in a lush, tropical jungle setting, ➵◰ Canvas Prints ⧈ Framed Prints
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The Sleeping Gypsy ☷ Rousseau ☶ Canvas
The Sleeping Gypsy (1897) by Henri Rousseau depicts a woman sleeping in the desert, with mountains in the background, under a dark sky with a few stars and a full moon. She is wearing a colorful long robe, holding a staff, next ➵◰ Canvas Prints ⧈ Framed Prints
