An artwork on Galleree from The Art Institute of Chicago.
About the artwork
The WaterfallHenri Rousseau
French, 1844–1910
1910
France
116.2 × 150.2 cm (45 3/4 × 59 1/8 in.)
Oil on canvas
Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection
['Century of Progress', "world's fairs", "Chicago World's Fairs", 'animals', 'flowers', 'forests', 'people', 'plants', 'trees']
['painting', 'modern and contemporary art']
Among the very last compositions Henri Rousseau painted, The Waterfall is typical of the large-scale jungle scenes for which he gained renown in the 20th century. A self-taught artist who worked by day as a customs agent until the age of 49, Rousseau never set foot outside of France. Instead, he learned about the flora and fauna of far-away places through visits to Paris botanical gardens and zoos as well as in popular books. As a result, his landscapes often reflect how Parisians at the time imagined France’s colonial empires in Africa and the Americas. Here, he created a secluded vignette of two dark-skinned figures and a pair of deer at a stream surrounded by dense foliage. As we look upon them, seemingly undetected or just noticed by the deer, we encounter a fictional scene that reflects 20th-century European ideas about escaping modernity and returning to more peaceful origins.
| attributed to Art Institute of Chicago under CC-By license
In the twilight of his artistic journey, Henri Rousseau unveiled a masterpiece that would whisper tales of lost worlds: The Waterfall. This resplendent jungle scene, painted with a fervor that dripped from his brush, epitomized the large-scale landscapes that would etch his name in art history. Imagine the air thick with the scent of damp earth and lush greenery as we stand before a thundering cascade, the water sparkling like diamonds in the sun.
Rousseau, a man of simple beginnings, never sought formal training; instead, he painted with the wisdom accrued from a life spent navigating the complexities of customs in bustling France. Until he turned 49, he balanced the rigid rhythms of a governmental job with the wild freedom of his imagination. Strikingly, the horizons of distant lands lay untouched by his feet—Rousseau never ventured beyond his homeland. His journeys were instead confined to Parisian botanical gardens and zoos, where he absorbed the vibrancy of flora and fauna.
It was from these nurturing grounds that he conceived his vivid visions, colored by the dreams of a nation enthralled by the wonders of its colonial possessions in far-flung Africa and the Americas. In the heart of his canvas, Rousseau crafted a secluded vignette, two dark-skinned figures perched at a stream, their presence gentle yet arresting. Nearby, a pair of deer grazes, blissfully unaware of the quiet observers.
As we gaze upon this serene tableau, something stirs within us—a sense of mystery suffused with longing. The scene resonates with a yearning to escape the grind of modernity, inviting us to embrace a primordial peace, to live once more among nature's untamed beauty. In Rousseau’s imagery, we find not just painted colors, but reflections of human dreams, the eternal pull toward simpler, more harmonious beginnings in a world rife with complexity.
About the artist
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