Henri Rousseau
Today is a big day ... we start the pre-sale of our DailyArt Calendars, which means that until October 16th they will be available for -25% off! :) Today's Rousseau is the cover and represents one of the months in our Wall Calendar, but also check out our Desk Calendar and brand new ... 2023 PLANNER! Be quick, they sell fast. :) Fill your 2023 with art!
Back to art. Henri Rousseau's paintings depict wild animals and tropical jungles that might lead you to believe he was quite the adventurer. But Rousseau never left France, and drew inspiration from visiting botanical gardens and reading travel books. He placed this imaginary scene of a tiger attacking a buffalo within a fantastic jungle environment in which botanical accuracy was of little importance (note the bananas growing upside down). Here, sharply outlined hothouse plants are enlarged to fearsome proportions. Rousseau was working on this painting while imprisoned for fraud in December 1907. Officials granted him an early release to finish it for exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants, where this major composition, one of the artist's largest and most important, appeared in March 1908.
This artwork comes from the Cleveland Museum of Art, an Open Access institution, which means you can remix, share, and reuse images of the public domain. We love their inclusive mission!
P.S. See a selection of Rousseau's most fantastic jungles. <3