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Outskirts of Paris
About the Artwork
In addition to his large jungle scenes, Rousseau also painted small landscapes, including this view of a river or canal on the outskirts of Paris. While retaining a sharp, detailed rendering of objects, Rousseau has abandoned the flat tonality of his earlier works for more blended modeling and freer brushwork. The volumes of the clouds, trees, and houses occupy distinct areas in space, revealing the serenity of an organized world. A self-taught painter who, at the age of 41, quit his job in the Paris municipal toll or tax service to devote himself entirely to art, Rousseau was widely admired by avant-garde artists for his intuitive sense of design and inventive subjects.
Inscriptions
Signed lower right: Henri Rousseau
Provenance
Henri Rousseau 1927: M. Lefèbvre, Paris. His collection sale, Paris, Drouot, 3 March 1927 (lot 117, repr.), Paysage de banlieue, for ff 55,000, sold to Émile Level. 1927-1929: Émile Level, Paris, France, consigned to Valentine Gallery, New York, NY 1929: Valentine Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art on December 16, 1929. 1929-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). 19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 1, 1943). Primitive Art and Folk Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 15-May 15, 1951).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Henri Rousseau (French, 1844–1910)
- Date
- c. 1897–1905
- Medium
- oil on fabric
- Dimensions
- Framed: 56.5 x 65.5 x 8 cm (22 1/4 x 25 13/16 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 37.8 x 45.8 cm (14 7/8 x 18 1/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 1929.951
More by Henri Rousseau in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009431
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