Rousseau, Henri (1844-1910)
Fleurs dans un vase (Flowers in a Vase)
1909
Oil on canvas, 45.4 x 32.7 cm
Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo
For Henri Rousseau, the theme of the still life, especially flowers, offered a pleasant diversion from more ambitious, academic subjects. The strict front-facing view of his flower paintings and his employment of clear, solid-colored forms and restricted, flattened space are all characteristic of folk or “primitive” art. The flowers in this painting have been carefully rendered. All of the floral varieties in the bouquet are recognizable: peonies, tulips, daisies, mimosas, acacias, and forget-me-nots. The surface is smoothly and evenly brushed, but it is sometimes interrupted to allow the white preparatory ground to show through as an element of texture. (AKG)