Henri Rousseau

Henri Julien Felix Rousseau was born on, May 21, 1844 in the Loire Valley. He once described himself as being one of France's "best realist painters". most critics of his time didn't share his enthusiasm. Rousseau was often mocked and people referred to him by his occupation, "Le Douanier" (the custom's officer). However, in the last few years of his life public opinions about his work began to change and since his death his popularity has continued to grow. In 2005 a major retrospective show featuring 49 of his paintings toured from the Musee d'Orsay to Tate Modern and then (the following year) to Washington's National Gallery of Art.

Rousseau left his school in Laval in 1860. He spent several years in the French Army but by 1871 he was living in Paris working as a civil servant. Rousseau didn't begin to paint seriously until he was in his early 40's. He claimed to have had no training and no teacher, "other than nature". By 1895 he had exhibited at least one painting, every year, for the past decade at the Salon des Independants, (a jury-free salon) and had attracted some attention for his work but few sales.

In 1907 Rousseau met the art dealer Wilhelm Uhde (who would become his first biographer) and the painter Robert Delaunay (whose mother would commission Rousseau to paint, "The Snake Charmer"). From this point on many other artists began to make friends with Rousseau and acknowledge his influence. His young admirers included Picasso, Braque and Brancusi. Three years later, Rousseau exhibited, "The Dream" at Salon des Independants and finally, in the last year of his life the artist enjoyed success.

Guillaume Apollinaire named Rousseau, the "angel of the night-life quarter" and when the artist died in 1910, he promised he would find a way to smuggle paints and brushes into heaven so his friend could carry on painting. In 1965 Ken Russell produced and directed a delightful documentary about Rousseau called, Always on a Sunday.  Rousseau claimed he hated books as, "they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about."

So, rather than recommend any further reading, Le Document suggests art lovers everywhere to watch Ken Russell's short but sweet film on You Tube. 

Text © Harry Pye, 2020