Henri

Rousseau
Art analysis
 By: Olivia Bertolini
Henri Rousseau: Art Analysis

Q1. What is the main movement in the painting and how

has Rousseau created it?
Rousseau has created this picture to be very realistic; using
these tones he has made it looks windy and raining. The main
direction is the right, and it almost seems like the tiger is trying
to escape, the facial expression and stance look scared and is
ready to runaway.

Q2. What do you find realistic

in this painting and what
looks artificial or dreamlike?
All the nature and surrounding
(plants, trees and rain) all look
realistic, but the tiger has
cartoon-like features that make it
look artificial like the face and
eyes.

Q3. Why do you think Rousseau ha d to exhibit at an

independent gallery?
I think it was because his art wasn’t familiar to the people of his
time, his art is more cartoon-like and colourful, at this time art
was mostly dark and realistic

Henri Rousseau: Art Analysis

Q4. Explain what you think his intentions were in his art
making and what was his main inspiration
“I don’t know whether you feel the way I do,

but when I am in these hothouses and see

the strange plants from exotic lands it seems

to me that I am entering a dream. I feel like a

quite different person.”

I think that when he enters the hothouses, he pictures in his

head a dreamlike fantasy which inspired him to paint such
detailed and vibrate designs.

Q5. Choose a painting that appeals to you and explain

why?

“Jungle: Fight Between Tiger and Buffalo”

I chose this picture, because for me it really stood out from the
others, I like the texture and tones he has used. The colours
are bright which make it stand out and it looks realistic.
Henri Rousseau: Art Analysis
Q6. How will this image help me create my own design
of an ‘ants’ world?
I think this picture will help me a lot with the medians and tones
used. I need a lot of detail in my own design and looking at this
I can see that the detail Rousseau has put in this picture, which
can also help me in other designs later on.

Q7. List the animals used in the ‘The Dream’

 Human,
 Birds,
 Monkeys,
 Loins,
 an Elephant

Q8.
Rousseau created fantastic worlds filled with odd
juxtapositions, though his imaginary jungles were based on
first-hand observation of the lush vegetation. He freely mixed
flora and fauna from different environments and used the jungle
vegetation as a decorative background, covering large areas of
his canvas with a dense pattern of abstraction. Rousseau was
similarly unrestrained in his merging of the human and animal
worlds.
The Dream, which depicts a nude woman lounging in the
middle of the jungle, represents the pinnacle of Rousseau's
achievement. The domestic and the exotic, and earned the
respect of the avant-garde artists. They may also have admired
the all over precision of the painting, in which each component
—the reclining nude, the wide-eyed lions, the abundant
greenery—is rendered with equal weight. As the poet and critic
Guillaume Apollinaire wrote, "The picture radiates beauty that is
indisputable. I believe nobody will laugh this year."