View of the Outskirts of Paris
circa 1900
A solitary figure clutching a black umbrella strolls down a wide, reddish road that seems to stretch on forever, flanked by white buildings and a red-roofed house. Henri Rousseau, a self-taught painter who worked as a toll collector (earning him the nickname 'Le Douanier'), captures the outskirts of Paris with a unique, flattened perspective. Instead of his famous lush jungles, here we see a mix of suburban homes and looming industrial smokestacks puffing away in the distance. The trees look almost like cut-out shapes, giving the whole scene a dreamlike, storybook quality that feels both peaceful and a little lonely.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
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