Exotic Landscape 1910

Henri Rousseau painted this 'Exotic Landscape', probably in 1910, using oils to create a dreamlike jungle, dense with detail. It's not how a jungle actually looks, but more how one might feel. Rousseau’s greens are really something. Look closely at the way he builds up the leaves with layers of slightly different shades. They are flat and simple shapes, but together they create depth and volume. Check out the monkey holding an orange. The way he paints the fur, it's like he is building up the form stroke by stroke, as if each individual hair is carefully placed. It reminds me of early modernist painters like Matisse, who were also drawn to naive art and the directness of its vision. It's like Rousseau is saying, I’m going to paint what I see, or rather what I imagine, without any fancy tricks or academic rules. And in that simplicity, there's a kind of profound truth.