"Jungle with Setting Sun," Henri Rousseau, c. 1910.

Rousseau (1844-1910) was a former tax collector who took up art in his 40s. Completely self-taught, he faced ridicule and dismissal in his lifetime, but now he is highly regarded as a precursor to modernism and an influence on later avant-garde art.

He loved painting jungle scenes, but they weren't real jungles; he never saw one himself. His ideas of jungles were based on popular literature and visits to botanical gardens in France. His animals often had humanlike faces and sometimes seemed to be undertaking human activities.

Here, for instance, the jungle plants look like houseplants magnified to enormous size; the flowers look like dandelions and clover blossoms, but giant ones. They tower over the man and tiger in the bottom center. It's impossible to tell if he was trying to be realistic but just lacked any reference to the real thing, or creating a sort of approximation using what references he had, and creating a personal fantasy.

It's easy to laugh at Rousseau's work; sometimes it doesn't make a lot of sense. But there's a joy and enthusiasm about it that appeal.

Happy Flower Friday!

From the Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland.

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