Description
| Title: | Scene in Bagneux on the Outskirts of Paris |
| Other titles: | Scene in Bagneux on the Outskirts of Paris (catalogue) |
| Painter: | Henri Rousseau |
| Year painted: | not confirmed with the museum |
| Original size: | 33 cm x 46.3 cm (height x width, as published) |
| Original technique: | oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | naive art (primitivism) |
| Held at: | Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki, Japan (as published) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, ten sizes or a size made to order |
Scene in Bagneux on the Outskirts of Paris is a painting by Henri Rousseau, oil on canvas; according to published records it is held by the Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki, Japan. What you see: a pale cow in a green meadow, two tall haystacks, a small man with a straw hat and a stick, and a church spire in the distance. We paint it by hand in oils, in ten sizes or to measure, and send you a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.
Scene in Bagneux on the Outskirts of Paris
What is on the canvas?
In the middle of the meadow stands a pale, almost pink cow with horns, facing right. At the right rise two tall golden-brown haystacks, and in front of them a small figure in dark clothes sits on the ground wearing a straw hat and holding a long stick, with a few patches of red around the figure. At the left, beyond a strip of water, a dark church with a tall pointed spire rises behind the trees, and a small shrub grows in the foreground. More than half the painting is a calm grey-blue sky. The signature, Henri Rousseau, is at the lower left. Another country view by the same painter is Meadowland.
What does the painting mean?
Bagneux lies just south of Paris, and Rousseau shows how close to the city the countryside still began: a cow, hay and a herdsman, with a church spire in the distance. The cow is large and carefully outlined while the man by the haystacks is tiny, as if each thing were painted to its own scale; that is what gives Rousseau’s landscapes their quiet, slightly dreamlike calm. We could not simply check the year with the museum, so we give none. Another view of the outskirts of Paris is Environs de Paris.
Which size suits which room?
The published size of the original is 33 cm high and 46.3 cm wide, so it is a small painting; 87 x 62 cm keeps its proportion most exactly. Ten sizes are available: 70 x 52, 80 x 55, 87 x 62, 100 x 68, 100 x 75, 110 x 78, 117 x 81, 120 x 87, 130 x 94 and 140 x 103 cm. Because the scene is calm and light, it suits a kitchen, a dining room or a bedroom, where 87 x 62 cm is enough; above a sofa in a living room we recommend 117 x 81 cm or larger. 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 first, then the trees, the church and the strip of water, then the meadow and the haystacks, and last the cow, the seated figure and the shrub in front. 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?
According to published records, at the Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki, Japan; we could not read the museum’s own entry, so we do not link to it.
When was it painted?
We could not check the year with the museum, so we give none.
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 the countryside, animals and quiet landscapes. If you would rather the recipient chose, there is a gift voucher.
- Subject: a pale cow in a meadow, two haystacks, a small seated figure in a straw hat and a church spire in the distance.
- Original: oil on canvas, 33 x 46.3 cm (as published), Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki; year not confirmed.
- Our version: hand-painted oil, ten sizes from 70 x 52 to 140 x 103 cm or to measure, unframed, photograph before dispatch.
- Of note: Bagneux lies just south of Paris; in the painting the countryside begins almost at the city gates.
