Henri Rousseau painted more than 25 jungle themed paintings. He painted ‘The Dream’ in 1910. Jadwigha, his Polish mistress from his youth is reclining nude on a velvet sofa in the middle of the jungle.
Critics were confused by this. So Rousseau wrote a poem to accompany the work… for clarification.
Yadwigha in a beautiful dream
Having fallen gently to sleep
Heard the sounds of a reed instrument
Played by a well-intentioned [snake] charmer.
As the moon reflected
On the rivers [or flowers], the verdant trees,
The wild snakes lend an ear
To the joyous tunes of the instrument.
Paula Lehtonen, Jungle 1 – 4
This year, daughter is having a Jungle themed birthday party, so am spending spare moments during baby’s naps and late at night to paint party props. Jungle themed party props in the making…
Dali showed up about 20 years after Rousseau.
Melting clocks, body parts and innards scattered over landscapes… no wonder he blew their minds!
Dali, 1969
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