Description
| Title: | The Eiffel Tower |
| Other titles: | The Eiffel Tower (catalogue) |
| Painter: | Henri Rousseau |
| Year painted: | not confirmed with the museum |
| Original size: | 52.4 cm x 77.2 cm (height x width, as published) |
| Original technique: | oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | naive art (primitivism) |
| Held at: | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA (as published) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, ten sizes or a size made to order |
The Eiffel Tower is a painting by Henri Rousseau, oil on canvas; according to published records it is held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. What you see: a broad river running straight towards a bridge strung with lights, a small Eiffel Tower in the distance, and above it pink and gold streaks of evening cloud. 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 Eiffel Tower
What is on the canvas?
Down the middle a broad river with pale pink reflections runs straight towards a low bridge on which a row of red and yellow lights is burning. Behind the bridge rises a slender Eiffel Tower with a small flag. Above the horizon stretch bands of pink, gold and blue cloud, with blue hills beneath them. At the left a white house with a blue roof and a chimney stands among dark trees, with boats moored along the bank. At the right houses and factory chimneys rise behind the trees, heaps of sand lie on the quay, and three anglers stand on the wall with their rods. A small boat rows in midstream. The signature, Henri Rousseau, is at the lower left. Another Eiffel Tower by Rousseau is View of the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro.
What does the painting mean?
Rousseau places the Eiffel Tower far in the background, a small point at the end of the river, and gives the leading role to the evening sky and the water that reflects it. The anglers, the boat and the heaps of sand give the scene the calm of an ordinary evening on the Seine. We could not read the museum’s own entry, so we give no year. On a wall a painting like this works as a window onto a quiet Paris evening. Another evening Paris by the same painter is View of the Île de la Cité, Paris.
Which size suits which room?
The published size of the original is 52.4 cm high and 77.2 cm wide; 110 x 75 cm keeps its proportion most exactly. Ten sizes are available: 75 x 50, 80 x 53, 87 x 62, 99 x 65, 105 x 70, 110 x 75, 120 x 78, 130 x 85, 140 x 92 and 150 x 100 cm. The broad, calm landscape suits a living room, a bedroom or a dining room; above a sofa we recommend 120 x 78 cm or larger, and 87 x 62 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 Paris quay with an airship by the same painter is Quai d’Ivry.
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 with its streaked clouds and the hills first, then the trees and houses on both banks, then the river with its reflections, and last the lit bridge, the tower, the boats and the anglers. 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 bridge over the Seine by the same painter is View of the Bridge at Sèvres. 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 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; 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 Paris, rivers and evening light. If you would rather the recipient chose, there is a gift voucher.
- Subject: a broad river towards a lit bridge, a slender Eiffel Tower in the distance, pink and gold evening clouds, anglers on the quay.
- Original: oil on canvas, 52.4 x 77.2 cm (as published), Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; year not confirmed.
- Our version: hand-painted oil, ten sizes from 75 x 50 to 150 x 100 cm or to measure, unframed, photograph before dispatch.
- Of note: the Eiffel Tower is only a small point at the end of the river; the sky plays the leading role.
