Henri Rousseau

Paper Summary:

Henri Rousseau is considered the first and the greatest of the naif or primitive painters and the single most important predecessor to modern surrealism. This paper discusses Rousseau's life and looks at a number of his pieces. It examines his connection with modern art developments and his peers, evaluates the life experiences that influenced his paintings and critically analyzes one of his most important works, "The Anglers."

From the Paper:

"Henri Rousseau is best described as an unusual figure in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century French art history. For many years art critics had difficulty "placing" him and explaining his work, but it is agreed today that he was a major influence in modern art. One must remember that this was an era, early in the modern art movement, when traditional shapes and ordered standards were on the way out and artists were looking for new inspirations and forms of expression. In painting this sometimes came in the form of art that had always existed but never been taken seriously- children's art and "primitive" art. Today we know that Henri Rousseau was the first and the greatest of the naif or primitive painters, and the single most important predecessor to modern surrealism. Rousseau is best remembered for solving the initial problem that surrealists had by giving form to the irrationality of this modern style of painting (Hughes 227)."

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