Henri Rousseau - The ambition of painting

The exhibition and its catalogue will look back on this close collaboration between the Parisian dealer and the American collector, and more broadly on the network of collectors and dealers the painter worked with during his lifetime. Around fifty works will be on display, some selected from these two institutions' collections and others key artworks on loan from European and American institutions, including The Sleeping Gypsy, a masterpiece conserved at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

This exhibition looks back on Henri Rousseau's career (1844-1910), his approach to painting, and his professional ambitions through his connections to the art market. At the age of 49, he moved to Paris from his native hometown of Laval and decided to retire from his job as a customs officer to devote himself entirely to painting. The artist used a range of genres and techniques to make a name for himself on the Parisian art scene: compositions sent to the Salon des Indépendants, government commissions to decorate town halls in the Île-de-France region, portraits commissioned by his friends and family, landscapes intended for sale, and more intimate self-portraits. The exhibition aims to go beyond the legends surrounding the name of 'Le Douanier Rousseau' (Rousseau the toll collector) to study his artistic career in depth. Thematic areas will explore the artworks' materiality and study them in the context of the modern art market, in which Paul Guillaume and Albert Barnes were key figures.

CURATORSHIP

Christopher Green, Consulting curator, professor emeritus at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London

Nancy Ireson, Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions & Gund Family Chief Curator, Fondation Barnes, Philadelphia

Juliette Degennes, Heritage Curator, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris