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How did Henri Rousseau’s reputation change after his death?
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Henri Rousseau
Myself: Portrait-Landscape, oil on canvas by Henri Rousseau, 1890; in the National Gallery, Prague. 146 × 113 cm.
Following his death in 1910, Henri Rousseau’s reputation grew significantly, shifting from the ridicule he faced during his lifetime to being recognized as a major influence on modern art.12
Key developments in his posthumous legacy include:
- Retrospective Recognition: He was honored with a retrospective exhibition at the Salon des Indépendants in 1911.1
- Critical Acclaim: In 1912, the painter Wassily Kandinsky wrote admiringly of Rousseau in the Expressionist review Der Blaue Reiter.1
- Artistic Influence: Rousseau is credited with inspiring a broader 20th-century interest in naive art. Furthermore, his imaginative, dreamlike compositions are believed to have influenced the Surrealist movement, including artists such as Paul Delvaux and Max Ernst.1