Rousseau-Surprised! Flashcards
full title
‘Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!)’
location now
National Gallery (London)
date
1891
what type of artist is Rousseau
*French post-impressionist painter in the Naïve or Primitive manner
what was his first job and how was this significant
*First worked as an inspector at a toll station.
*He was also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer), a humorous description of his occupation as a toll and tax collector
training
*He started painting seriously in his early forties but had no formal training
*Although no works remain as evidence, he had probably drawn and painted since childhood, and his stated ambition was to be a painter in the style of the academicians of his day.
when did he gain permission to copy paintings in the Louvre
*In 1884 he obtained permission to copy paintings at the Louvre
where and when did he exhibit his first paintings
*In 1886 he exhibited some of his first paintings, not at the official Salon, which would never have admitted a painter of such naiveté, but at the Salon des Indépendants; this annual exhibition was established by young painters to allow themselves and others a chance to exhibit free from the narrow official Salon requirements of style and subject matter.
when did rosseau entirely devote himself to painting
*In 1893 (age 49) Rousseau retired from the toll house to devote himself entirely to painting.
whats his best known subject matter
*He is best known for his jungle fantasy pictures.
who inspired the composition of his works
*Apparently indebted to Gauguin in the composition of his works.
did he gain a wide audience
*His work attracted a small group of admirers, but otherwise he was regarded as a complete eccentric.
how is the subject matter ambiguous
*Depicts a tiger, illuminated by a flash of lightening in the midst of a raging gale/storm. Is the tiger surprised or is he surprising missing characters?
*The tiger’s prey is beyond the edge of the canvas, so it is left to the imagination of the viewer to decide what the outcome will be. Rousseau later stated that the tiger was about to pounce on a group of explorers.
in how many of his other works does the tiger appear
*The tiger appears in at least three more of his paintings after this
where is the tiger positioned in the composition
*A tiger perches in a gravity defying manner on a raft of foreground fronds.
*The dramatic incident taking place in the centre is in keeping with Rousseau’s continued predilection toward the grandiose, historical, dramatic narratives of traditional academic painting.
expression of tiger
*Wide-eyed and startlingly red-gummed predator.
how is some of the narrative left to the imagination
*The tiger’s prey is beyond the edge of the canvas, so it is left to the imagination of the viewer to decide what the outcome will be
why is it thought the tiger looks so startled
-implied that the tiger is about to pounce of prey beyond the canvas
-Could the tiger also be frozen in shock as the storm whips around him?
what does the title suggest
*Rousseau’s original title Surprised! suggests the tiger has the upper hand and Rousseau later stated that the tiger was about to pounce on a group of explorers.
foliage
*Exaggeratedly large scale of the foliage - it dominates the composition
*Dense and exotic vegetation pushes up against the surface of the painting, leaving only glimpses of the sky beyond.
*Trees and grass bend and twist in the wind
*In the right foreground of this painting is a rubber plant, and further left the distinctive forms of ‘Mother-in-law’s tongue’ plant.
which plant is in the right of the foreground
rubber plant
where is the mother in laws tongue plant
further left
pose of tiger
-The tiger sits somewhat awkwardly within the vegetation.
A tiger perches in a gravity defying manner on a raft of foreground fronds
simplification of tiger
*The tiger has been simplified to harmonise with the fantastically rhythmic composition.
colour
-Patterning and rich colour dominate.
-A symphony of stripes composed of innumerable green hues, with the vivid punctuations of its complementary red found in the tiger’s gums and the various exotic plants.
effect of verticals and diagonals
-Hypnotic interweaving of verticals and diagonals.
-Diagonal of the tiger echoed in one of the thick branches of the tree above it.
how is the motion of the tiger enhanced
*This sense of forward motion of the tiger further enhanced by the branches and the leaves blowing in the wind.
-through rapid verticals of rain
This painting differs from Rousseau’s other jungle paintings in its feeling of movement.
*Sense of immediacy and movement enhanced by the cropped composition.
sky
*A dark and ominous stormy sky.
light
*The tiger is illuminated.
*The flash of lightening creates a sense of drama.
how is there a sens eof compressed space
*Sense of compressed space; all action pushed to the foreground
why was he influenced by the exotic
*It was claimed, either by the artist or by friends of his, that Rousseau had experienced life in the jungle during time in Mexico in 1860 where he had served as a regimental bandsman.
*In fact, he had never left France, and it is thought instead that his inspiration came from the botanical gardens of Paris, such as the Jardin des Plantes (which included zoological galleries with taxidermy specimens of exotic animals), caged wild animals in the Paris zoo, oversized domestic plants and trees, and from prints and books.
*The end of the century French populace was captivated by exotic and dangerous subjects, such as the perceived savagery of peoples and animals of distant lands
where in paris did rosseau gain acess to elements of the exotic
*his inspiration came from the botanical gardens of Paris, such as the Jardin des Plantes (which included zoological galleries with taxidermy specimens of exotic animals),
caged wild animals in the Paris zoo,
oversized domestic plants and trees,
and from prints and books.
rosseau personal experience with the intesity of his scenes
According to Apollinaire, Rousseau felt the imaginative reality of the scenes he was painting so intensely that he had to throw open the window to escape from their self-induced spells.
climate of the exotic in Paris
*The end of the century French populace was captivated by exotic and dangerous subjects, such as the perceived savagery of peoples and animals of distant lands
‘Tigers on the prowl’ had also been the subject of an exhibition at the 1885 École des Beaux-Arts.
*An important event in his life at this time was the Universal Exposition (World Fair) held in Paris in 1889; it is probable that the reconstructions of native life in French colonies (Senegalese, Tonkinese, and Tahitian landscape)s at the exposition provided further inspiration for the exoticism of his later paintings.
infuence of Delacroix
*The tiger is derived from a motif found in the drawings and paintings of Delacroix. See in particular, ‘Tiger and Snake’ (1862).
influence of ecole des beaux arts
‘Tigers on the prowl’ had also been the subject of an exhibition at the 1885 École des Beaux-Arts.
why was there a poor reception of his work
‘Tigers on the prowl’ had also been the subject of an exhibition at the 1885 École des Beaux-Arts.
link to lady with the unicorn
*Commentators have linked the finely worked surface pattern with Medieval tapestries, such as ‘The Lady with the Unicorn’, which Rousseau would have seen.
process
*Despite their apparent simplicity, Rousseau’s jungle paintings were built up meticulously in layers, using a large number of green shades to capture the lush exuberance of the jungle.
*He rendered each leaf separately yet with an eye toward overall design; each branch of leaves constitutes an almost abstract pattern.
*He devised his own method for depicting the lashing rain by trailing strands of silver paint diagonally across the canvas, a technique inspired by the satin-like finishes of the paintings of William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
*A subtle white and grey glazing over the entire surface of the painting depicts the intense downpour in the jungle.
*It has been suggested that Rousseau used a pantograph.
technique of rain
*He devised his own method for depicting the lashing rain by trailing strands of silver paint diagonally across the canvas, a technique inspired by the satin-like finishes of the paintings of William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
reception
*Not only was Rousseau unaware of his lack of conventional technical skill, but he believed that his work resembled that of the academic painters.
*Unable to have a painting accepted by the jury of the Académie de Peinture et de Sculpture, Rousseau exhibited Tiger in a Tropical Storm in 1891 under the title Surpris!, at the Salon des Indépendants, which was unjuried and open to all artists.
connection to the fauves
*In 1905 Rousseau was invited to the Salon d’Automne (a semiofficial exhibition created after a schism among the academicians), where his painting The Hungry Lion (1905) was hung in the same room as the works of the group of avant-garde painters known as the Fauves (“Wild Beasts”)
