The chair factory at Alfortville 1897

Henri Rousseau painted 'The Chair Factory at Alfortville' in France sometime around 1907, using oil on canvas. It depicts a factory, identifiable by the sign that reads "Chesnoy and Co., Chair Manufacturers". Now, factories symbolize industry, and industry symbolizes modernity, so why does this one seem so... small? Look closely at the painting's spatial relations. The road takes up almost half of the image, dwarfing the factory. Is the lack of people in the factory and on the road a commentary on the future of industrialization? We can't know for sure, but during Rousseau's lifetime, from 1844 to 1910, there was a growing uneasiness among artists and writers with the effects of modernity on daily life. Art historians often examine such cultural conditions to understand an artwork, researching historical, literary, and economic documents to give meaning to what we see.