Henri Rousseau artwork - The Dream. A naked woman reclines in the jungle surrounded by exotic flora and fauna. A man plays a pipe. A lion stares at us.
The Dream is an apt title for the present work, with its surreal depiction of a nude woman reclining on a sofa in a forest. The woman is surrounded by colorful, painstakingly depicted greenery - which reportedly included at least twenty-two shades of green - and inhabitants of the jungle, including several wide-eyed lions who gaze at the strange scene or at the viewer. This image of a humorously out-of-place academic-style nude - reminiscent of neoclassical odalisques portrayed by artists such as Ingres and perhaps modeled on a Polish woman Rousseau once loved - in an exotic setting far from the artist's native France may be seen as Rousseau's response to late-19th-century French colonialist expansion to lands he experienced only through his visits to museums and visual media like magazines and postcards. With its incredible attention to detail, vibrant palette, and absurdist combination of imagery, The Dream reveals why Rousseau's art was so admired by the Surrealists, especially the movement's founder, André Breton, who wrote, "It is with Rousseau that we can speak for the first time of Magic Realism." In his accompanying caption, one of the many poetic descriptions he often appended to his paintings, Rousseau described it thus: Yadwigha, in a beautiful dream Having fallen asleep softly Heard the sound of a musette Played by a kindly charmer While the moon shone down Upon the flowers, upon the verdant trees The wild serpents lent their ear To the merry tunes of the instrument. The painting captivated the poet and critic Guillaume Apollinaire, who wrote, "The picture radiates beauty, that is indisputable. I believe nobody will laugh this year." The Art Story
Size: 4398px × 2976px
Photo credit: © steeve-x-art / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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