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The Equatorial Jungle by Rousseau, Henri

Rousseau, Henri · 1909

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Henri Rousseau gave this painting away for free. In 1909, a year before he died, he handed The Equatorial Jungle directly to his friend, the artist Robert Delaunay. The self-taught former toll collector, mocked by critics as a naif, would never know the value of his gift.

Look at the two small animals in the lower center. An adult and a juvenile peer out from the dense foliage, nearly lost in a sea of sage, olive, and lemon-lime leaves. The animals, like Rousseau himself, are outsiders, navigating a world that threatens to swallow them. The oversized white hyacinth and pink flowers tower over them, creating a deliberately skewed scale.

Chester Dale, an American banker, bought the canvas from a Paris gallery in 1928. He bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Art in 1963. A painting that left the artist's hands as a gift is now a cornerstone of the collection, featured in the landmark 2005 exhibition that cemented Rousseau as a precursor to Picasso, Braque, and the Fauves.

Rousseau died of an infected leg wound in 1910 and was buried in a pauper's grave. The customs officer who painted jungles from picture books left behind a body of work now insured for fortunes.

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Details

signed and dated 1909, the year before his death , a terminal work; the modest inscription contrasts with the monumental ambition of the image above it
signed and dated 1909, the year before his death , a terminal work; the modest inscription contrasts with the monumental ambition of the image above it
Rousseau painted each leaf individually with a flat precision that reveals his method , copied leaf by leaf from botanical illustrations, not observed from life
Rousseau painted each leaf individually with a flat precision that reveals his method , copied leaf by leaf from botanical illustrations, not observed from life
unnaturally large relative to the animals below , Rousseau's signature scale distortion that turns botany into dream
unnaturally large relative to the animals below , Rousseau's signature scale distortion that turns botany into dream
scaled far larger than life, these leaves create the painting's claustrophobic immersion , the world of a small creature, not a human observer
scaled far larger than life, these leaves create the painting's claustrophobic immersion , the world of a small creature, not a human observer
the rigid geometric spikes form a defensive barrier at the painting's base, separating the viewer from the jungle interior
the rigid geometric spikes form a defensive barrier at the painting's base, separating the viewer from the jungle interior
Transcript

He painted this jungle without ever leaving France. The plants came from the Paris botanical gardens. Look at the two animals, nearly swallowed by the leaves. This painting was never bought or sold in his lifetime. Today it sits in the National Gallery of Art, insured for millions.