"Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) was a self-taught artist with a unique style, exemplified in his visionary jungle scenes. These dream-like tableaux, for which he drew heavily on visits to Paris' Botanical Gardens, captivate with the lushness of their plant and animal life, while unsettling the viewer with their heady combination of exoticism and romanticism. This sumptuously illustrated book provides not only a comprehensive overview of Rousseau's career, but also penetrating insights into his inspiration. With large, color reproductions of his paintings, many previously unpublished illustrations of his sources and influences, and a wealth of new research on his life and work (including the only interview conducted with the artist), "Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris is poised to become the definitive volume on this remarkable painter."--BOOK JACKET.

In this magnificent book, le Pichon, journalist and art historian, re-creates Rousseau's world, examines the iconographical and psychological inspirations of his paintings, and discusses his influence on others -- Picasso, Delaunay, the Surrealists, and of course the naive painters. The book is introduced by the painter's granddaughter and also by two distinguished museum curators who know Rousseau's work well.

A brief study of the life and career of French painter Henri Rousseau.

Born into a family of tradespeople in a small city in France, Henri Rousseau became a customs and excise officer in the customs house in Paris in 1871, a job that earned him the nickname 'the customs officer'. Rousseau was an enthusiastic self-taught artist. Nourished by themes in the popular imagination, Rousseau's painting expresses a vision of reality, populated by iconic figures outlined with hieratic force against flat blocks of saturated color and fantastic spaces - a vision long branded as naive, ingenuous and uncultivated. This book demonstrates how fully Rousseau il Douanier's masterpieces are part of this archaic trend, and of the world of art in general, from his dream-like exotic landscapes to his still-lifes. They are shown alongside works signed by the likes of Picasso, Gaugain, Frida Kahlo, and Carlo Carrà. Contents: Reasons for an exhibition. Henri Rousseau and archaism; Is there an archaic trend in the history of art before Rousseau?; The eclectic sources of the customs officer's painting: the world of Henri Rousseau; Henri Rousseau and the collection of the art dealer Paul Guillaume; Henri Rousseau and his influence on the Parisian avant-garde circle; Henri Rousseau and Italian art; Henri Rousseau and the Blue Rider; Illustrated chronology of the life and work of Henri Rousseau, edited by Yann Le Pichon and Anthology of Henri Rousseau's writings, edited by Annabelle Mathias. Published to accompany an exhibition at Palazzo Ducale, Venice.

"Rousseau's series of jungle paintings was and still continues to be the subject of controversy. This book answers many of the questions surrounding Rousseau's importance as an artist and examines his paintings in a wider art-historical context. As a self-taught artist who started painting at the age of 40 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, the Surrealists and Wasily Kandinsky, owes much to the jungle paintings."--Amazon.

This carefully researched book reveals the truth behind the myths that have grown up around Rousseau, providing an ideal introduction to this most intriguing of artists.

The paintings of Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), particularly his astonishing jungle dreams, are now so popular that it is difficult to realize how they were originally greeted with ridicule and incomprehension. It was not until Rousseau was championed by the young avant-garde—Picasso, Delaunay, and Kandinsky, among others—that he came to be recognized at his true worth. One of the most significant of these early admirers was the dealer and art historian Wilhelm Uhde. It was Uhde who put on the first one-man show of Rousseau’s work, and the catalogue he wrote for the occasion is the basis of these Recollections. Much of what we know about Rousseau comes from these pages, which present a portrayal of a man of naivety, humor, gentleness, and total artistic commitment. Uhde returned to his text again and again, refining it and filling out telling details. The version presented here is the final, definitive text, which first appeared after World War I in a translation overseen by Uhde himself. An introduction by Nancy Ireson sets the Recollections in context, with an overview of Rousseau’s career, the ebb and flow of his reputation, and the part that this polemic and elegiac text played in the creation of a new kind of art.

Join Puffer and artist Henri Rousseau in this engaging companion book to the "Dropping in on Rousseau" video. Combining clever illustrations with masterworks, Dropping in on Rousseau will help teach children to make their own interpretations about works of art. 32 pages, hardcover.