Henri Rousseau

Against a brilliantly colored sunset, a lone figure strolls in a park on the outskirts of Paris. Leafy patterns of gold and green fill the branches of trees whose limbs cast decorative shadows. As night descends, the sunlight softens to a rosy glow in the sky above.

Rousseau was a self-trained artist who worked as a clerk in a customs office. He drew inspiration from close observation of nature in Paris’s parks and zoos. His paintings are characterized by a keen awareness of the natural world and its ability to reflect emotional states.

–Maureen O’Brien, curator of painting and sculpture