
Rousseau by Cornelia Stabenow
The art of Henri Rousseau: A fascinating mixture of primitive idyll and flight from civilization Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) emerged from humble circumstances - reflected in his nickname, the customs official. An employee in the Paris customs bureau, Rousseau was an autodidact who incrementally worked his way into a position among the artists who were renewing the art world at the turn of the century.It was a difficult journey - for years the art world laughed at the layman's flat, icon-like figures, simple landscapes and, in his late phase, exotic jungle scenes. But his naive compositions in fact became an emblem that piqued the interest of the avant-garde. Rousseau's jungle paintings consisted of ornamental variations of plant leaves, among which he set brilliantly colored predators, natives and naked beauties. In so doing, the artist evinced intuitive principles of design and compositions, which subsequent avant-garde artists had to work out for themselves with great effort.
Ultimately winning recognition as an uncompromising modernist, Rousseau inspired comparison with Derain, C zanne, Matisse and Gauguin. He became acquainted with Apollinaire, Delaunay, Picabia, Brancusi and other important figures; in 1908, Picasso held a legendary banquet in his honour. Today, Rousseau's myth, a fascinating mixture of primitive idyll and flight from civilization, of concrete and abstract, holds a secure place in the history of art. About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:
- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions
Stabenow, Cornelia: - Cornelia Stabenow was born in Bamberg, Germany, and wrote her doctoral thesis on Rousseau's jungle pictures. She worked as an art historian from 1982 until her passing in 1990.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9783822805527 |
| ISBN 10 | 3822805521 |
| Title | Rousseau |
| Author | Cornelia Stabenow |
| Series | Taschen Basic Art Series |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Taschen GmbH |
| Year published | 1994-09-01 |
| Number of pages | 96 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |