Henri Rousseau Research Paper

Henri Rousseau was a French post impressionist painter. He was given the nickname Le Douanier due to a job that he had during 1871-1983, he was working at the Paris Customs office. Rousseau was serving his country during his time in the Army prior to his artistic career. In 1893 he had retired, and decided to focus on painting and making it his number one priority. By giving his full attention to painting he was opening up new doors to the artistic world. Henri Rousseau decided to follow a certain structure on his artwork, he followed a traditional work that was implemented by certain artists at the time. The artists that influenced his artwork were Bougurea and Gerome, their distinct artwork caused Rousseau a deep admiration that was shown in his various paintings. He is also very known for the jungle themes that are portrayed in his pieces, for example, certain artwork like Surprised was exhibited in the National Gallery, located in London in 1891. Another piece of artwork named The Dream was exhibited in MOMA located in New York in 1910. These two examples helped him to improve his ability on his art by creating a meticulous and meaningful art form. …show more content…
The dark rich green color that was used in the leaves, grass, and trees in the jungle show the symbolism of nature, a land that is free of people and filled with life. It can also be seen monkeys hanhing from the trees picking up oranges, showing the cycle of nature the natural habitat of animals and the healthy food earth mother nature provides. If looked closely a white bird with orange and soft blue colors is portrayed as the center of the painting, marking a representation of the wildlife. The blue sky contrasts the dark green ground which represents the purity of