Book Description
Rousseau's series of jungle painitngs are widely seen as the pinnacle of his achievement. The artist's work was and still continues to be the subject of controversy. This book answers many of the questions surrounding Rousseau's importance as an artist, reproducing in high-quality color his jungle paintings and examining them in a wider art-historical context.
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German
From the Publisher
As a self-taught artist who started painitng at the age of forty and worked in an unorthodox, naive, style, Rousseau had to struggle to overcome the derision of his contemporaries. That Rousseau succeeded in silencing his critics, winning wide admiration, including that of Picasso and Wasily Kandinsky, owes much to his jungle paintings. The author of this book has succeeded in drawing together a wide variety of material relating to Rousseau's life and the artistic context of his jungle paintings. The result is a fascinating re-evaluation.
Henri Rousseau: Dreams of the Jungle FROM THE PUBLISHER
Rousseau painted his famous series of jungle pictures late in life. From 1872 to 1893 he had worked as a customs officer in Paris and only started painting when he was forty. Throughout his career as a painter, Rousseau's subjects were almost exclusively the streets, bridges, and public squares of his beloved Paris. In the last ten years of his life, however, he produced his jungle pictures, which proved to be the greatest of his achievements. Where does Rousseau rank among painters of the late 19th century? Was his work really naive? Were his jungle paintings merely decorative? How did he measure up in terms of the young painters who discovered him, especially Fernand Leger? This book answers these questions by going beyond a study of Henri Rousseau's life and work by placing them in a greater art historical context.
Art & Photography
Book Info
