Henri Rousseau (Lions, and Monkeys, and Jungles. And a bunny too, oh my!)

Henri Rousseau was famous for his jungle scenes. Below are monkeys and lions and JUNGLES!

Apes In The Orange Groves
- How many monkeys are in the trees?
- Do you like oranges?
- How many oranges do you think are in those trees?

 
Exotic Landscape  (1908)
- MORE monkeys!

- Do you see the bird in the middle of the picture?

Landscape with Monkeys (1908)
- Does the bird in this picture look like the bird in the picture above?
- Do you see the orange sun behind the big leaves?

 
Exotic Landscape  (1910)
- What are the monkeys in the tree doing?

- Do you think monkeys like oranges? 
 


Rabbit  (1908)
- How many carrots is the rabbit eating?

- Do you like carrots?

 
The Monkeys In The Jungle (1909)
- MORE monkeys!
- Do you see the big leaves on the trees?

Tiger In A Tropical Storm (Surprised)  (1891)
- How do you think the tiger feels?
- What is the weather like?

Tropical Forest With Apes and Snake  (1910)
- Do you see the snake behind the white flowers?
- How many monkeys are in the painting?
- Do you like the patterns of all the different jungle leaves?

 

Woman In Red In The Forest (1907)

Woman Walking In An Exotic Forest (1905)

Do these 2 pictures look similar?
Why do you think so?

Mandrill in the Jungle (1909)
-Does this monkey look like the monkeys in the other paintings?

Henri Rousseau
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Born: 21 May 1844; Laval, Mayenne, France
Died: 02 September 1910; Paris, France

• Henri Rousseau was completely self taught.
• Best known for his naïve, or primitive, childlike jungle scenes
• Good at painting and music as a child
• Spent most of his life as a customs officer. Because of this, he was also referred to as "Le Douarneir", or the “Customs Officer.”
• Started painting seriously at the age of 40. By the time he was 49, he retired from his job to paint full time.
• Mainstream painters did not embrace his style
• BUT he was highly regarded by "outsider artists", such as Picasso, Jean Hugo, Leger, Beckman
• He was unaware he was considered untrained, and regarded himself very highly. In his opinion, Picasso and he were the only two great living artists.
• Many of his paintings were jungle scenes, although he had never been to a jungle (he actually never left France!) but he made many trips to botanical gardens, read picture books, and studied taxidermy animals
• He interviewed many soldiers who had served in the jungle in Mexico about their travels through the subtropics.
• His work has also been an inspiration for the contemporary animated film “Madagascar.”

Self Portrait from L'ile Saint Louis (1890)