Henri Rousseau (1844 – 1910) was a French artist did not start painting until he was in his 40’s. Ridiculed during his life, he came to be recognized as a self-taught genius whose works are of high artistic quality. He tried to paint in the schooled manner of the traditional artists, but it was the innocence and charm of his work that won him the admiration of many avant-garde artists such as Paul Klee and Pablo Picasso. Rousseau's loving attention to detail that made him an exceptional artist.
We shall use Rousseau “Surprised, storm in the forest” and "Equatorial Jungle" as the inspiration for our pictures.
- Henri Rousseau only started painting seriously when he was in in his forties.
- He was a self-taught painter and, as a result, his work is often described as naive or child-like.
- Rousseau became a full-time artist at the age of 49.
- He was an accomplished violin player, and he often supplemented his income by playing as a street musician.
- Although some of Rousseau’s most well-known paintings are of jungle scenes, he never set foot in a jungle. Instead, he took his inspiration from the Jardin des Plantes (botanical gardens) in Paris and illustrations in books.
- Pablo Picasso was an admirer of Henri Rousseau and he held a banquet to honour the artist. Rene Magritte was also impressed by Rousseau’s work.
We are going to focus on a Tiger's head peeping through the jungle foliage. Here are some photos real tigers for inspiration.
You will need
- Pre-painted paper or collage paper in lots of greens
- Sugar paper for the background
- oil pastels or wax crayons
- scissors and glue
First draw your tiger's head with oil pastels onto a coloured background, green or beige work well. Then cut out foliage from collage paper and glue it around the edge of your paper. If you only glue the edges, the leaves will curl and look more realistic.
Here's what we did.
