Henri Rousseau by

Henry ( le Douanier ) Rousseau

norton_h_j — 2013-06-21 10:50:11 UTC

Henri Rousseau was a French Post-Impressionist painter. He is also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer) after his place of employment. Ridiculed during his life, he came to be recognized as a self-taught genius whose works are of high artistic quality.

Here is a self portrait by the man.

Here is a small fact file for Henri.

norton_h_j — 2013-06-21 10:54:47 UTC

Born: 21-May-1844
Birthplace: Laval, France
Died: 2-Sep-1910
Location of death: Paris, France
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Cimetière de Bagneux, Hauts de Seine, France

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Painter

Nationality: France
Executive summary: French painter of the exotic

Military service: French Army

norton_h_j — 2013-06-25 13:25:42 UTC

Henri Rousseau was born in Laval in France in 1844 into the family of a plumber; he was forced to work there as a small boy. He attended Laval High School as a day student and then as a boarder, after his father became a debtor and his parents had to leave the town upon the seizure of their house. He was mediocre in some subjects at the high school but won prizes for drawing and music. He worked for a lawyer and studied law, but "attempted a small perjury and sought refuge in the army," serving for four years, starting in 1863. With his father's death, Rousseau moved to Paris in 1868 to support his widowed mother as a government employee. In 1868, he married Clémence Boitard, his landlord's 15 year-old daughter, with whom he had six children (only one survived). In 1871, he was appointed as a collector of the octroi of Paris, collecting taxes on goods entering Paris. His wife died in 1888 and he married Josephine Noury in 1898. He started painting seriously in his early forties, and by age 49 he retired from his job to work on his art full-time.

Rousseau claimed he had "no teacher other than nature", although he admitted he had received "some advice" from two established academic painters, Felix Clement and Jean-Leon Grome. Essentially he was self-taught and is considered to be a naïve or primitive painter.

Henri Rousseau

norton_h_j — 2013-06-28 10:54:20 UTC

Speech

This is the french translation of the text above the image below.

norton_h_j — 2013-07-05 11:02:48 UTC

Henri Rousseau était un peintre post-impressionniste français. Il est également connu comme Le Douanier après son lieu de travail. Ridiculisé pendant sa vie, il est venu pour être reconnu comme un génie autodidacte dont les travaux sont de qualité artistique élevée.