The Repast of the Lion
The Repast of the Lion
Henri Rousseau · c. 1907
01
Paris. Around 1907.
A jungle, packed to the edges.
Somewhere in it, a lion is eating.
02
Bottom centre. Half hidden in the grass.
The lion has its kill in its jaws.
The kill is spotted.
03
Bananas. Giant leaves. Every blade drawn.
He studied plants like these in Paris.
In the botanical gardens.
The man who painted jungles never left France.
04
A blue flower, big as the lion's head.
The animals came from books.
Illustrated journals. Children's picture books.
05
Bottom right, his name.
He liked to hint he'd served in Mexico.
There's no evidence he ever went.
The whole jungle.
Grown in Paris.
“When I am in these hothouses and see the strange plants from exotic lands, it seems to me that I am entering a dream.”
1893
Rousseau leaves his job at the Paris toll office.
No formal training. He paints full time.
The nickname sticks: le Douanier. The customs man.
He dies in Paris in 1910.
In 1951 this lion comes to the Met.
Henri Rousseau
French · Naïve art · 1844 to 1910
Sources · 6