Description
| Title: | Outskirts of Paris |
| Other titles: | Outskirts of Paris (the museum’s title) |
| Painter: | Henri Rousseau |
| Year painted: | about 1897–1905 |
| Original size: | 37.8 cm x 45.8 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | naive art (primitivism) |
| Held at: | Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, eight sizes or a size made to order |
Outskirts of Paris is a painting by Henri Rousseau, oil on canvas, dated about 1897–1905 by the Cleveland Museum of Art. What you see: a white house with a red roof by a canal, a tall tree, a wooden footbridge and the far bank with houses and poplars, with big white and grey clouds in a blue sky above. We paint it by hand in oils, in eight sizes or to measure, and send you a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.
Outskirts of Paris
What is on the canvas?
At the left stands a white house with a red roof, a chimney and a weathervane, its reddish shutters closed; behind it rises a tall dark green tree. A man in a straw hat walks along the path by the house. The canal curves away to the right, a dark wooden footbridge crosses a narrow point, and on the water sits a small boat with a red dot and a pale sail. On the far bank stand low houses, slender poplars and a tall red-roofed house with a French flag flying beside it, and small figures walk along the quay. More than half the painting is blue sky with big white and grey clouds. The signature, Henri Rousseau, is at the lower right. Another canal by the same painter is The Canal.
What does the painting mean?
The Cleveland Museum of Art writes that, besides his large jungle scenes, Rousseau also painted small landscapes such as this view of a river or canal on the outskirts of Paris. He still draws things sharply and in detail, but instead of the flat colour of his earlier work he models more softly and with freer brushwork. The clouds, trees and houses, the museum says, each occupy their own clearly measured space, which gives the painting the serenity of an organised world. The museum also quotes what Rousseau once told Picasso: “We are the two greatest artists of this era, you in the Egyptian style, I in the modern style.” Another view of the outskirts of Paris is Environs de Paris.
Which size suits which room?
The original is 37.8 cm high and 45.8 cm wide, a small painting; 160 x 132 cm keeps its proportion most exactly, and 85 x 70 cm is close. Eight sizes are available: 70 x 58, 85 x 70, 100 x 80, 110 x 90, 120 x 100, 160 x 132, 180 x 149 and 200 x 160 cm. The light, airy landscape suits a living room, a bedroom or a dining room; above a sofa we recommend 110 x 90 cm or larger, and 70 x 58 or 85 x 70 cm for a smaller wall. Above a sofa the painting usually takes about two thirds of the width of the furniture; above a bed it should stay narrower than the headboard. Custom sizes are ordered through the made-to-order painting page, where you enter the width and height; we suggest keeping the proportion of the original and changing only the scale. A river bank outside Paris by the same painter is The Banks of the Bièvre near Bicêtre.
How is the painting made, and does it come framed?
Your canvas is begun only after you order it, and is painted by hand in oils in our workshop in Slovenia, at the size you choose. The painter lays in the sky and its clouds first, then the far bank with its houses and poplars, then the house, the tree and the canal, and last the footbridge, the boat, the flag and the small figures. We do not print, and no machine application is used, so no two versions are exactly alike. The canvas is stretched on a wooden frame and arrives ready to hang; a picture frame is not included in the price and is chosen separately. Before packing we photograph the finished painting and send you the photograph for approval; only then does it travel. A river on the edge of Paris by the same painter is also The Great Laundry Boat at Charenton Bridge. The whole collection is in the Henri Rousseau gallery.
How is it delivered, and what do we guarantee?
We deliver to Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Hungary and Germany. Depending on its size, the canvas travels rolled in a rigid tube or stretched on its frame, always in protective wrapping and as a tracked parcel. The making time depends on the size and is confirmed when you order. We guarantee that every painting is painted by hand and that you see a photograph of the finished work before dispatch; if anything in it is not as you wish, we correct it before it leaves the workshop.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original kept?
At the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, USA.
When was it painted?
About 1897–1905, the dating the museum gives.
Is a frame included?
No. The canvas is stretched on a wooden frame and ready to hang without a picture frame; a frame can be chosen separately.
Is this a print?
No. It is painted by hand in oils, and the layers of paint can be seen and felt.
Is the painting suitable as a gift?
Yes, especially for someone who loves Paris, water and light, airy landscapes. If you would rather the recipient chose, there is a gift voucher.
- Subject: a white red-roofed house by a canal, a tall tree, a wooden footbridge and the far bank with poplars under big clouds.
- Original: oil on canvas, 37.8 x 45.8 cm, Cleveland Museum of Art; about 1897–1905.
- Our version: hand-painted oil, eight sizes from 70 x 58 to 200 x 160 cm or to measure, unframed, photograph before dispatch.
- Of note: according to the museum, Rousseau told Picasso that the two of them were the greatest artists of the era.
