{"id":203044,"date":"2026-08-21T22:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svetslik.si\/?post_type=product&p=203044"},"modified":"2026-08-29T09:21:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T07:21:05","slug":"the-representatives-of-foreign-powers","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/svetslik.si\/en\/henri-rousseau\/the-representatives-of-foreign-powers\/","title":{"rendered":"Henri Rousseau \u2013 The Representatives of Foreign Powers Coming to Greet the Republic as a Sign of Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n<\/table>\n

The Representatives of Foreign Powers Coming to Greet the Republic as a Sign of Peace is a work by the painter Henri Rousseau, oil on canvas, painted in 1907. The original measures 130 cm x 161 cm and is in the collection of Mus\u00e9e Picasso, Paris, France (inv. RF 1973-91). The picture shows: a group of men under a red awning hung with flags, a lion in front and four gold-lettered posts.<\/p>\n

The Representatives of Foreign Powers \u2013 a hand-painted reproduction<\/h2>\n

The sky is blue, with pale cloud at the right. From the upper left a large dark red awning
\nedged in gold slopes down over the scene, carried on gilt poles; along its upper edge stands a
\nrow of flags on staffs, in many colours and patterns. Beneath it, on a dark red platform, a
\nlarge group of men stands in rows facing out \u2013 several in black frock coats with white shirts
\nand white gloves, several in uniform with gold epaulettes in ochre, dark blue and red, one in
\na red robe with a tall dark cap, one bare-chested in a red wrap, two in wide straw hats, one
\nin a red, white and blue striped robe with a white headdress. Nearly all of them hold a small
\ngreen sprig. At the left a figure in a red robe and red cap, with long fair hair, reaches out
\nan arm and holds a golden sprig above the group; in front of that figure a pale blue
\ngold-bordered shield carries gold lettering, partly covered by the robe. A tawny lion lies at
\nthe lower left in front of the platform. Dark red steps descend at the centre right. Along the
\nfront edge of the pale paving stand four dark posts, each topped with a green sprig and
\nlettered in gold. At the right a city square opens: rows of tall buildings hung with flags on
\ntheir facades, a monument on a pedestal inside an iron railing with a dark sculptural group at
\nits base, and many small figures walking \u2013 women in red, pink and white dresses, men in dark
\ncoats and straw hats, and children. At the lower right is the signature Henri J. Rousseau with
\n1907 beneath it.<\/p>\n

What is written on the posts<\/h3>\n

The four posts along the front edge carry gold lettering that is entirely legible at full
\nresolution: PAIX, TRAVAIL, LIBERTE, FRATERNITE. On the blue shield at the left the lettering
\nis partly hidden behind the robe; what is visible reads UNIO, then ES, then PEUPLE, then S.
\nWhat lies under the robe we do not claim \u2013 what we report is what can actually be seen. A
\ncomparable public ceremony, likewise with flags and a crowd, is A Centennial of Independence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A group we do not name<\/h3>\n

Several dozen men stand on the platform, each with his own face, dress and bearing. We name
\nnone of them and attach to none of them a country, a rank or an office \u2013 the record lists
\nnobody. Nor do we name any flag: the row along the awning is described by colour and pattern,
\nbecause one misread flag would attach a country to a ceremony that the record does not
\ndocument. Similarly posed groups, looking straight out of the picture, appear in The Wedding Party<\/a> and in
\nArtillerymen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What it means on the wall<\/h3>\n

The original measures 130 cm x 161 cm. Because the canvas is full of faces and small
\nlettering it needs width: at small sizes the gold words on the posts and the figures in the
\nsquare collapse into dots, while at a metre and a half every face reads separately. We do not
\nreproduce canvases at the original measurement; you choose the size for your wall. The
\nopposite pole from the same hand, a devastation instead of a ceremony, is La Guerre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How a hand-painted reproduction is made<\/h3>\n

Every canvas is painted by hand in oils, to order, in the size you choose. The painter
\nworks from a high-resolution photograph of the original, layer by layer, so that the gold
\nwords on the posts, the sprigs in the hands and the flags on the facades stay legible at
\nsmaller sizes too. Because this is hand work, two canvases of the same size always differ
\nslightly; that is not a fault but the difference between a painting and a print. Prices on
\nthis page start at 155 EUR for the smallest size.<\/p>\n

\nYear:<\/td>\n\n1907<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nOriginal size:<\/td>\n\n130 cm x 161 cm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nPainting style:<\/td>\n\nNaive art (primitivism), post-impressionist period<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nOriginal technique:<\/td>\n\nOil on canvas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nLocated at:<\/td>\n\nMus\u00e9e Picasso, Paris, France<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n