Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings Signed (lower right): Henri Rousseau
Gallery Label This is probably one of the "paysage exotique" paintings Rousseau showed at the 1907 Salon d'Automne in Paris. He had first explored this theme in "Surprise" of 1891 (private collection), two years before he retired from his post as a customs official (hence his nickname, "le Douanier") to devote himself full-time to his art. Rousseau's early biographers, wishing to explain the gap between his fantastic jungle scenes and his pedestrian life as a civil servant, traced the self-taught artist's inspiration to his supposed adventures as a young soldier in Mexico and South America. However, the tales they had spun began to unravel, and Rousseau was forced to admit that he had "never traveled further than to the hothouses in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris." Besides frequenting the city's botanical gardens and menageries, Rousseau drew inspiration from popular ethnographic journals and illustrated children's books.
Provenance Wilhelm Uhde, Paris (1910–at least 1911; purchased from the artist by July 1910 for Fr 200; sold to Keller); Julius Keller, Aachen (in 1914); [Stephan Bourgeois, New York, in 1923]; Adolph Lewisohn, New York (about 1923–d. 1938; cat., 1928, p. 196, ill.); his son, Sam A. Lewisohn, New York (1938–d. 1951)
Exhibition History Paris. Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées. "Salon d'automne," October 1–22, 1907, no. 1493 or 1494.
Quai d'Orsay Pont de l'Alma. "Salon des indépendants (27me exposition)," April 21–June 13, 1911, no. 21.
Winterthur. Kunstmuseum. 1921.
New York. Stephan Bourgeois. 1923.
New York. Union League Club. "Exhibition of 'Modern' Pictures Representing Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Expressionist, and Cubist Painters," April 8–10, 1924, no. 30.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Modern Works of Art," November 20, 1934–January 20, 1935, no. 23.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Lewisohn Collection," November 2–December 2, 1951, no. 75.
New York. Guggenheim Museum. "Rousseau, Redon, and Fantasy," May 31–September 8, 1968, unnumbered cat.
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. "Treasured Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 8–November 26, 1972, no. 105.
Tokyo National Museum. "Treasured Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," August 10–October 1, 1972, no. 105.
Haus der Kunst München. "Die Kunst der Naiven: Themen und Beziehungen," November 1, 1974–January 12, 1975, no. 69.
Kunsthaus Zürich. "Die Kunst der Naiven: Themen und Beziehungen," January 30–March 31, 1975, no. H18.
Paris. Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais. "Le douanier Rousseau," September 14, 1984–January 7, 1985, no. 49.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Henri Rousseau," February 5–June 4, 1985, no. 49.
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. "Picasso and the School of Paris: Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," September 14–November 24, 2002, no. 7.
Tokyo. Bunkamura Museum of Art. "Picasso and the School of Paris: Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," December 7, 2002–March 9, 2003, no. 7.
London. Tate Modern. "Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris," November 3, 2005–February 5, 2006, no. 48.
Paris. Grand Palais. "Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris," March 13–June 19, 2006, no. 48.
Washington. National Gallery of Art. "Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris," July 16–October 15, 2006, no. 48.
Berlin. Neue Nationalgalerie. "Französische Meisterwerke des 19.Jahrhunderts aus dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," June 1–October 7, 2007, unnumbered cat.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920," February 4–May 6, 2007, no. 104.
References [Wilhelm] Uhde. Henri Rousseau . Paris, 1911, unpaginated, fig. 13.Die Kunst des 20 Jahrhunderts . Berlin, 1926, p. 49, pl. 241.Henri Rousseau, le douanier . Paris, 1927, unpaginated, no. 19, ill.The Adolph Lewisohn Collection of Modern French Paintings and Sculptures . New York, 1928, pp. 196–97, ill.Modern Works of Art . Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1934, pp. 12, 24, no. 23, pl. 23.Recollections of a Picture Dealer . London, 1936, p. 217.Henri Rousseau . Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1961, p. 219, fig. 160.Henri Rousseau . Paris, 1961, p. 101, ill.French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art . 3, New York, 1967, pp. 166–67, ill.L'opera completa di Rousseau il doganiere . French ed., 1970. Milan, 1969, p. 105, no. 193, ill. colorpls. XXXIX and XL.Henri Rousseau, le douanier . New York, 1976, pp. 140–41, fig. 41.Henri Rousseau . New York, 1979, unpaginated, ill.Le monde du douanier Rousseau . Paris, 1981, pp. 154–55, ill. (color).Le douanier Rousseau en son temps . Tokyo, 1984, vol. II, pp. 664–65, no. 307, ill.Henri Rousseau: Die Dschungelbilder . Munich, 1984, unpaginated, no. 4, ill.Henri Rousseau . Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais. New York, 1985, pp. 210–11, no. 49, ill. (color) [French ed., 1984, pp. 218–19, no. 49, ill. (color)].in Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris . Exh. cat., Tate Modern. London, 2005, p. 37.in Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris . Exh. cat., Tate Modern. London, 2005, p. 222, no. 48, ill. p. 153 (color).in Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris . Exh. cat., Tate Modern. London, 2005, fig. 16 (color).in The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920 . Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New York, 2007, pp. 142, 254, no. 104, ill. (color and bw).in Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York, 2007, pp. 162, 300–301, no. 151, ill. (color and bw).in Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York, 2007, p. xix.in The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920 . Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New York, 2007, p. 11.
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