“Henri Rousseau (1844\u20131910) was a clerk in the Paris customs service who dreamed of becoming a famous artist. At the age 49, he decided to give it a try. At first, Rousseau\u2019s bright, bold paintings of jungles and exotic flora and fauna were dismissed as childish and simplistic, but his unique and tenacious style soon won acclaim. After 1886, he exhibited regularly at Paris\u2019s prestigious Salon des Independants, and in 1908 he received a legendary banquet of honor, hosted by Picasso. Although best known for his tropical scenes, Rousseau, in fact, never left France, relying on books and magazines for inspiration, as well as trips to natural history museums and anecdotes from returning military acquaintances. Working in oil on canvas, he tended toward a vibrant palette, vivid rendering, as well as a certain lush, languid sensuality as seen in the nude in the jungle composition The Dream. Today, \u201cRousseau\u2019s myth”” is well established in art history, garnering comparison with such other post-Impressionist masters as Cezanne, Matisse, and Gauguin. In this dependable TASCHEN introduction, we explore the makings of this late-blooming artist and his legacy as an unlikely hero of modernism. \u201cNothing makes me so happy as to observe nature and to paint what I see.\u201d Henri Rousseau”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Henri Rousseau (1844\u20131910) was a clerk in the Paris customs service who dreamed of becoming a famous artist. At the age 49, he decided to give it a try. At first, Rousseau\u2019s bright, bold paintings of jungles and exotic flora and fauna were dismissed as childish and simplistic, but his unique and tenacious style soon […]\n","protected":false},"featured_media":84766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[712],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-84767","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-xenoglossa-vivlia","pa_brand-taschen","pa_syngrafeas-cornelia-stabenow","first","pre_order","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"yoast_head":"\n