Description
| Title: | Toll Gate |
| Other titles: | The Toll Gate (the museum’s title) |
| Painter: | Henri Rousseau |
| Year painted: | about 1890 |
| Original size: | 40.6 cm x 32.75 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | naive art (primitivism) |
| Held at: | Courtauld Gallery, London, United Kingdom |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, ten sizes or a size made to order |
Toll Gate is a painting by Henri Rousseau, oil on canvas, dated about 1890 by the Courtauld Gallery in London. What you see: a city gate with iron railings and lamps, a toll officer in a dark uniform, a green hill with cypresses behind, and tall trees at the right. We paint it by hand in oils, in ten sizes or to measure, and send you a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.
Toll Gate
What is on the canvas?
At the left stands the low brick toll house with a pale roof, and in front of it two iron gates with gilded spikes and lamps on posts. Before the gate stands a man in a dark uniform and cap, and on top of the wall above him a second dark figure looks out into the distance. White stone bollards stand by the gates. Beyond the wall rises a green hill with a building and a pointed spire on top, dark cypresses below, and two tall factory chimneys in the middle. Tall trees climb at the right, and a green lawn with a pale path spreads across the front. The signature is at the lower right. Another view of the Paris fortifications by the same painter is View of the Fortifications to the Left of the Gate of Vanves.
What does the painting mean?
The Courtauld Gallery writes that this is the only known painting in which Rousseau referred to his work at the city toll, the job that earned him the nickname “le Douanier”, the customs man. Paris was ringed by toll gates like this one, where all goods entering the city were taxed. The museum adds that Rousseau liked to paint invented landscapes, and this scene too looks dreamlike and imagined. His untaught style was mocked by some, but acclaimed by Picasso and other members of the avant-garde. Another view of the outskirts of Paris is Outskirts of Paris.
Which size suits which wall?
The original is 40.6 cm high and 32.75 cm wide, a small upright format; 81 x 100 cm keeps its proportion most exactly. Ten sizes are available: 55 x 66, 60 x 72, 63 x 79, 71 x 90, 74 x 96, 81 x 100, 89 x 105, 90 x 115, 99 x 125 and 110 x 130 cm. The upright green landscape suits a narrow wall, a hallway or a study at 55 x 66 or 63 x 79 cm; above a chest of drawers or in a living room we recommend 81 x 100 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. Rousseau’s Paris on the Seine is View of the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro.
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 the hill with its buildings first, then the cypresses and tall trees, then the toll house, the wall and the gates, and last the lamps, the bollards and the two 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 Paris island in evening light by the same painter is View of the Île de la Cité, Paris. 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 Courtauld Gallery in London.
When was it painted?
About 1890, 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, green landscapes and stories about painters. If you would rather the recipient chose, there is a gift voucher.
- Subject: a city gate with iron railings and lamps, a toll officer in uniform and a green hill with cypresses on the edge of Paris.
- Original: oil on canvas, 40.6 x 32.75 cm, Courtauld Gallery, London; about 1890.
- Our version: hand-painted oil, ten sizes from 55 x 66 to 110 x 130 cm or to measure, unframed, photograph before dispatch.
- Of note: according to the museum, it is the only known painting in which Rousseau referred to his work at the toll.
