Henri Rousseau
Henri Rousseau was a naïve painter who lived from 1844-1910 but primarily worked from 1884 until his death. The works of Rousseau where distinct and unlike anything else that was being created, this was most likely due to Rousseau’s lack of formal training. Rousseau managed to create imaginative and brilliant pieces based solely on his own intuition and natural skill.
There reality of Rousseau’s early life is a bit foggy due to the great mythos that surrounds the artist, in large part due to the artist himself. Rousseau was born in Laval, a town in the province of Mayenne in western France. His family was relatively poor and so Rousseau entered the workforce immediately after he finished school. Rousseau spent a small time in …show more content…
The critics too were fairly harsh on Rousseau and his work one critic famously wrote “Monsieur Rousseau paints with his feet, with a blindfold over his eyes” (BBC). However critics came around to Rousseau’s unique style of painting much sooner than the public did. Rousseau was seen as a bit of a joke throughout the public, especially because of his naïve and innocent personality that left him susceptible to practical jokes and mockery. The meanest of these “jokes” occurred between Rousseau’s two marriages. Rousseau fell in love and proposed to a woman who refused him. Someone overhearing this decided to take advantage and told Rousseau he had spoken to the woman and she had changed her mind and agreed to marry him. Rousseau excited spread the good news only to be devastated waiting for a bride who would never show up. Despite the negative views of the public Rousseau was never deterred, he remained confident of his place amongst the master painters throughout his whole career. Eventually the other great painters of the time came to appreciate Rousseau’s paintings culminating with a party that Picasso through in Rousseau’s Honor. Although the party may have began, as a joke by the end there was a serious respect for what Rousseau had
Henri Rousseau was a naïve painter who lived from 1844-1910 but primarily worked from 1884 until his death. The works of Rousseau where distinct and unlike anything else that was being created, this was most likely due to Rousseau’s lack of formal training. Rousseau managed to create imaginative and brilliant pieces based solely on his own intuition and natural skill.
There reality of Rousseau’s early life is a bit foggy due to the great mythos that surrounds the artist, in large part due to the artist himself. Rousseau was born in Laval, a town in the province of Mayenne in western France. His family was relatively poor and so Rousseau entered the workforce immediately after he finished school. Rousseau spent a small time in …show more content…
The critics too were fairly harsh on Rousseau and his work one critic famously wrote “Monsieur Rousseau paints with his feet, with a blindfold over his eyes” (BBC). However critics came around to Rousseau’s unique style of painting much sooner than the public did. Rousseau was seen as a bit of a joke throughout the public, especially because of his naïve and innocent personality that left him susceptible to practical jokes and mockery. The meanest of these “jokes” occurred between Rousseau’s two marriages. Rousseau fell in love and proposed to a woman who refused him. Someone overhearing this decided to take advantage and told Rousseau he had spoken to the woman and she had changed her mind and agreed to marry him. Rousseau excited spread the good news only to be devastated waiting for a bride who would never show up. Despite the negative views of the public Rousseau was never deterred, he remained confident of his place amongst the master painters throughout his whole career. Eventually the other great painters of the time came to appreciate Rousseau’s paintings culminating with a party that Picasso through in Rousseau’s Honor. Although the party may have began, as a joke by the end there was a serious respect for what Rousseau had