Description
| Title: | The Banks of the Oise |
| Other titles: | The Banks of the Oise (catalogue) |
| Painter: | Henri Rousseau |
| Year painted: | not confirmed with the museum |
| Original size: | 33 cm x 46 cm (height x width, as published) |
| Original technique: | oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | naive art (primitivism) |
| Held at: | Fogg Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, USA (as published) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, ten sizes or a size made to order |
The Banks of the Oise is a painting by Henri Rousseau, oil on canvas; according to published records it is held by the Fogg Museum at Harvard. What you see: three cows grazing in a green meadow, a row of tall, slender trees behind them, and at the right a great tree with feathery blue-green leaves. We paint it by hand in oils, in ten sizes or to measure, and send you a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.
The Banks of the Oise
What is on the canvas?
In the foreground three cows graze on the green meadow: at the left a light brown one with white patches and horns, at the right two black ones with white patches. Behind them a small figure in blue is barely visible. At the left rises a row of four tall, slender trees, in the middle dense green woods and one orange autumn tree, and at the right a huge tree with feathery, silvery blue-green leaves, every leaf painted separately. Above lies a calm grey-blue sky. The signature, H. Rousseau, is at the lower right. Another Rousseau meadow is Meadowland.
What does the painting mean?
The title speaks of the banks of the Oise, which flows north of Paris, but Rousseau paints not the water but the quiet meadow beside it: cows, trees and sky. Every tree has its own shape and its own green, and the big tree at the right is painted leaf by leaf, as if embroidered. On a wall a quiet country painting like this brings a sense of rest. We could not read the museum’s own entry, so we give no year. Another Rousseau country scene with a cow is Scene in Bagneux on the Outskirts of Paris.
Which size suits which room?
The published size of the original is 33 cm high and 46 cm wide, a small painting; 105 x 75 and 140 x 100 cm keep its proportion most exactly. Ten sizes are available: 70 x 52, 80 x 55, 87 x 62, 100 x 70, 105 x 75, 110 x 80, 120 x 83, 130 x 90, 140 x 100 and 150 x 105 cm. The calm green landscape suits a kitchen, a dining room, a bedroom or a living room; 87 x 62 cm is enough for a smaller wall, and above a sofa we recommend 105 x 75 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 landscape from the surroundings of Paris by the same painter is Environs de Paris.
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 slender trees and the woods behind, then the great feathery tree leaf by leaf and the meadow, and last the cows and the small figure. 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 bank outside Paris by the same painter is The Banks of the Bièvre near Bicêtre. 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 Fogg Museum (Harvard Art Museums) in Cambridge, USA; 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 greenery. If you would rather the recipient chose, there is a gift voucher.
- Subject: three cows in a green meadow, a row of tall, slender trees and a great tree with feathery leaves.
- Original: oil on canvas, 33 x 46 cm (as published), Fogg Museum, Harvard; year not confirmed.
- Our version: hand-painted oil, ten sizes from 70 x 52 to 150 x 105 cm or to measure, unframed, photograph before dispatch.
- Of note: on the great tree at the right, every leaf is painted separately.
