LE RÊVE
par “le douanier” Henri Rousseau
1910, 204 x 298 cm
Rousseau is now best known for his jungle scenes,
the first of which is Surprise! (1891)
and the last is The Dream.
These two paintings are works of great imaginative
power, in which he showed his extraordinary ability to retain the utter freshness
of his vision even when working on a large scale and with loving attention to
detail.
He claimed such scenes were inspired by his experiences
in Mexico, but in fact his sources were illustrated books and visits to the
zoo and botanical gardens in Paris.
