Henri Rousseau: From Outsider to Modern Master

Online Talk (Zoom)

Friday 27 November 2026, from 10 to 11:30 am

£10 (scroll down for payment)

Henri Rousseau was one of the most unlikely figures to emerge from the Parisian art world of the late nineteenth century. A self-taught painter who worked as a customs official, the Academy repeatedly rejected him. But in the early years of the 20th century, artists like Picasso, Delaunay, and Léger championed Rousseau. He is now famous for his mysterious jungle scenes, exotic animals and dreamlike landscapes.

In this talk, we will explore Rousseau’s remarkable life and his most celebrated paintings, from Surprise! and The Sleeping Gypsy to The Dream. We will discover how he developed a highly distinctive style that ignored many of the rules of academic painting, and why avant-garde artists became fascinated by his work.

We will also consider Rousseau’s place in the emergence of modern art: was he an outsider, a naïve artist, or a sophisticated modern painter who simply chose to see the world differently?

Illustration: Henri Rousseau, Surprise! 1891, London, National Gallery

Cost: £10

This talk is part of the “One Friday, One Artist” series, please click here for more info and to see which previous talks are available as recordings: One Friday, One Artist (online talks)

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