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Henri Rousseau, while ridiculed and put upon during his life, has since become respected as one of the most important post-impressionist painters of France. Rousseau did not have much formal training and was largely self taught, allowing his style to flourish without large influence by other professional artists and instructors. Born in the Loire Valley of France in the mid-nineteenth century, Rousseau soon moved to the capital, Paris, when his parents, too in debt to remain in their present city, and evicted from their home, were forced out. In Paris Rousseau worked under a lawyer, and pursued law in school as well as endured a brief stint in the army. After the death of his father, Rousseau was forced to provide for his own growing family as well as his mother, locking him into a career track as a government employee. There he made reasonable quantities of money and when his late forties, retired from his profession to study and work on his art full time. Despite some formal artistic education, Rousseau declared he had “no teacher other than nature.”

Rousseau is best known for his jungle scenes that are rich in their atmosphere and detail, despite that fact that Rousseau never saw a jungle during the course of his life. The fantastical and blockish quality of Rousseau's many works have earned  him an identification with both primitivism and naïve art, though he identified with neither throughout his life. While these terms are often considered perjorative, they also indicate an abundance of valuable, unpretentious qualities. The tenents of primitivism include a “back to basics” mentality that often involves pastoral scenes or otherwise simple subjects. Primitivism also often included reduced perspective, elements of cubism, and Eastern influences. Primitivism was not confined to painting, however, and also included various styles of writing- from poetry to essays. Naïve art is often more affectionately called “outsider art,” as those who champion it are often formally untrained. A strong use of pattern and unrefined details as well as geometrically interesting shapes and perspective are often indicative of this style of painting.

Though Rousseau aspired to commercial success and acceptance by the greater public, he did not achieve these dreams during his lifetime. His flat, unabashedly naïve variety of art caused many to criticize him during his day. From 1886 onward, Rousseau showed his work regularly at the Salon des Indpenedants and it was there that he garnered his first favorable reviews. It is thought that the primitive works of Henri Rousseau greatly influenced the later fauvist movement as well as other post-impressionist painters such as the unflaggingly offbeat Henri Matisse. Avant-garde and vanguard artists ever since have derived great value from the work of Rousseau as well as unfailing sense of pride and hope in his work. Many of Rousseau's works have inspired the artists whose work is featured in our Abstract Canvas gallery.
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