Description
Henri Rousseau – The Merry Jesters
| Year of creation: | 1906 |
| Original size: | 113.4 cm x 145.8 cm |
| Painting style: | Post-impressionism |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Located: | Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA |
In this unusually rich painting, the artist depicts a group of bearded monkeys and a tropical bird staring intently at the viewer, as if their play was interrupted by a sudden noise.
The absurd pantomimic humor of the painting contrasts strangely with the veiled menace in the animal’s gaze and the frozen calm of the entire scene in the painting. The tragicomic effect is characteristic of Rousseau’s works of art. The painter captured the dreamlike luxury of the jungle in the painting, as he covered almost the entire canvas with an impenetrable curtain of lush growth.
