Description
| Title: | View of the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro |
| Other titles: | View of the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero (the museum’s title) |
| Painter: | Henri Rousseau |
| Year painted: | 1896–1898 |
| Original size: | 49.7 cm x 65.5 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | naive art (primitivism) |
| Held at: | Pola Museum of Art, Hakone, Japan |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, ten sizes or a size made to order |
View of the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro is a painting by Henri Rousseau, oil on canvas, dated 1896–1898 by the Pola Museum of Art. What you see: the Seine in Paris at sunset, a stone bridge lined with lamps, the Eiffel Tower with its flag rising behind the trees, and a yellow sun in an orange sky. We paint it by hand in oils, in ten sizes or to measure, and send you a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.
View of the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro
What is on the canvas?
A stone bridge with four arches and a row of lamps spans the painting. Behind it the brown Eiffel Tower rises out of autumn trees, the French flag at its top, and to its right stands a building with a dome and two towers. The sky is painted in bands of orange, yellow and blue, with dark clouds and a round yellow sun. On the river a man poles a long yellow barge, a small red boat passes under an arch, and in the foreground a dark figure stands with its back to us. At the right a large block of stone rises, and a dark tree closes the edge. The signature, H. Rousseau, is at the lower right. Another bridge over the Seine by the same painter is View of the Bridge at Sèvres.
What does the painting mean?
The Eiffel Tower was built for the World’s Fair of 1889, so it was still brand new when Rousseau painted it. The domed building with towers at the right is the old Palais du Trocadéro, which stood across the Seine from the tower until the 1930s. Rousseau sets the new Paris in the hush of evening: instead of city bustle we see only a barge, a boat and one figure watching the sunset. The colours of the sky, from orange to blue, return in the water, so on a wall the painting glows like a window onto the evening. Another Paris view by Rousseau is View of Montsouris Park, the Kiosk.
Which size suits which room?
The original is 49.7 cm high and 65.5 cm wide; 80 x 61 cm keeps its proportion most exactly. Ten sizes are available: 70 x 55, 80 x 61, 90 x 70, 110 x 80, 120 x 90, 140 x 110, 170 x 130, 200 x 150, 240 x 180 and 300 x 221 cm. Because the sky and water glow in warm colours, the painting works well in a living or dining room with neutral walls; above a sofa we recommend 140 x 110 cm or larger, and 80 x 61 cm for a study or hallway. 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 with boats by the same painter is also The Great Laundry Boat at Charenton Bridge.
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 banded sky and the sun first, then the tower, the domed building and the trees, then the bridge with its lamps and the water with its reflections, and last the barge, the boat and the figure 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 Paris park by the same painter is Jardin du Luxembourg. 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 Pola Museum of Art in Hakone, Japan.
When was it painted?
Between 1896 and 1898, 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 or has a fond memory of it. If you would rather the recipient chose, there is a gift voucher.
- Subject: the Seine at sunset, a stone bridge with lamps, the Eiffel Tower with its flag and the old Palais du Trocadéro.
- Original: oil on canvas, 49.7 x 65.5 cm, Pola Museum of Art, Hakone; 1896–1898.
- Our version: hand-painted oil, ten sizes from 70 x 55 to 300 x 221 cm or to measure, unframed, photograph before dispatch.
- Of note: when Rousseau painted this scene, the Eiffel Tower was less than ten years old.
