In this enchanting vegetal theater, the Douanier Rousseau does a phantasmagorical vision of the jungle, where nature reigns as absolute sovereign.
The profoundly dreamlike composition plunges us into a lush universe where each leaf seems to have been meticulously drawn. At the center of this symphony of deep greens, a lion devours its prey with strange serenity. The moon, a perfect disc positioned on the horizon, bathes the scene in a bluish light that confers upon the whole an atmosphere of nocturnal fairy tale. Exotic flowers—touches of immaculate white, cobalt blue, and solar yellow—punctuate this dense vegetation like melodic notes in a sylvan score. Here, Rousseau succeeds in transmuting a scene of natural predation into metaphysical vision, where the serene beauty of the wild world transcends its intrinsic violence.
Additional Information
- Title: “The Repast of the Lion” by Henri Rousseau, known as Le Douanier, 1907
- Dimensions: 44 3/4 in. × 63 in. (113.7 × 160 cm)
- Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue, New York, exhibited in Gallery 825
- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438822
Henri Rousseau, known as Le Douanier (1844-1910), embodies one of the most singular artistic trajectories in the history of modern art. A complete autodidact, having never received academic training nor traveled outside France, this former Paris customs employee began painting late in life.
His painting, initially mocked for its apparent naivety, progressively fascinated the artistic avant-garde for its extraordinary imaginative power and formal freedom. Rousseau developed a deeply personal style, characterized by meticulous execution, bright flat colors, and an idiosyncratic vision of the world. At his death in poverty, Rousseau left a body of work that, through its radical authenticity and visionary poetry, stands as one of the most original of his time.
