Henri Rousseau – A Centennial of Independence

A Centennial of Independence – a hand-painted reproduction

A deep blue sky stands above the scene. At the centre grows a large tree with a pale
grey-green trunk, spreading branches, green leaves and pale upright flower-spikes. Two staffs
cross against the trunk carrying flags of red, white and blue, each tied at the head with red,
white and blue ribbon, held by figures in round red caps. To left and right, tall poles with
gilt tips carry long vertical banners striped in red, white, blue, yellow, black, orange and
green; at the right hang round paper lanterns in blue, orange and yellow. Across the middle a
ring of dancers holds hands – a woman in yellow over green, one in orange, a man in a pale
blue-grey suit, a woman in a red bodice and white skirt, one in a striped bodice and yellow
skirt, a man in black with a blue sash, a woman in salmon – several of them in round red
caps. At the left, beyond the ring, stand more figures, a dark wagon and a bare whitish tree,
and further off small figures including a woman in a pale dress and children. At the right
four figures stand apart and watch: two men in white powdered wigs and black coats with
gold-embroidered facings, white cravats and knee-breeches; a man with a black moustache in a
black bicorne with an orange plume, a pale tunic under a dark coat and a red-orange fringed
epaulette; and a woman with long fair hair in a bright red cap, in a salmon gown with a cream
front panel. A young tree grows in front of them. The foreground is green grass, and at the
lower left is the signature Henri Rousseau with 1892 beneath it.

A ring that turns and four who stand still

The canvas is built from two opposites. At the centre the dancers hold hands and turn,
dressed in clean colours; at the right four figures stand perfectly still in dark coats and
wigs, and watch. The painter does not judge between them and does not connect them to the
scene: one group moves, the other observes. Who they are we do not claim – the record says
nothing about it. A comparably posed group, likewise looking straight out of the picture,
appears in The Wedding Party.

Colour as the event

This is the most colourful canvas in the group: seven colours in the banners, three in the
flags, lanterns and red caps, all under a blue sky and above green grass. Rousseau does not
blend his colours into atmosphere but lays them down as flat areas, so that every coat and
every ribbon stays distinct. The same handling, where colour carries the order rather than
light, appears in Artillerymen and in The Family. What is being celebrated we do not claim – the title
names it, the painting shows a tree, flags and a dance.

What it means on the wall

The original measures 111.8 cm x 158.1 cm and is the largest canvas in this group. Because
it is full of small figures it needs width: at small sizes the dancers’ faces and the fringed
epaulette collapse into dots, while at a metre and a half each of them regains a costume and
a step. We do not reproduce canvases at the original measurement; you choose the size for
your wall. For the opposite case, a quiet scene with no people in it, see View of the Bridge at Sèvres.

How a hand-painted reproduction is made

Every canvas is painted by hand in oils, to order, in the size you choose. The painter
works from a high-resolution photograph of the original, layer by layer, so that the stripes
on the banners, the ribbons on the flags and the faces of the four watchers stay legible at
smaller sizes too. Because this is hand work, two canvases of the same size always differ
slightly; that is not a fault but the difference between a painting and a print. Prices on
this page start at 155 EUR for the smallest size.