Naive art: Henri Rosseau

9:12 AM

Apparently, Wiki Paintings is a great place to find new artists. The other day I happened upon this painting in the Most Viewed section:

Negro attacked by a Jaguar by Henri Rosseau - 1910

Ok, the artist is not exactly a new one, but he is new to me. Henri Rosseau was a French Post-impressionist painter.

Carnival evening by Henri Rosseau - 1885-1886

He was self-taught and only started painting seriously when he was 40. People referred to him as Le Douanier, which means "the customs officer" (his profession).

Rendez Vouz in the forest by Henri Rosseau - 1886

I was very surprised to discover his work is categorized as primitive or naive art. I really like his paintings, but I could never really go for primitive art, it always looked a bit artificial to me (I'm looking at you, Gauguin).

Do you like Rosseau's paintings? What do you think of primitive or naive art?

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4 comments

  1. I love Rosseau's work. His paintings are so charming and there's always so much to see in them. x

    brighton-girl.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. Exactly, they have a lot of small details to admire. His self portrait is particularly charming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rousseau09.jpg

    Have a great day!

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  3. loved his self portrait and ''carnival night'', they are indeed charming.

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  4. His self portrait is so unusual and quirky, isn't it? It was a great discovery ;)

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