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Why did Henri Rousseau copy paintings at the Louvre?
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Henri Rousseau
Myself: Portrait-Landscape, oil on canvas by Henri Rousseau, 1890; in the National Gallery, Prague. 146 × 113 cm.
In 1884, Henri Rousseau obtained permission to copy paintings at the Louvre because his stated ambition was to become a painter in the style of the academicians of his day.1
Despite his lack of formal training, Rousseau held a deep desire to achieve official recognition and believed his work resembled that of the traditional academic painters. Throughout his career, he maintained a serious purpose and a dream of achieving official glory, often attempting to align his artistic efforts with the grandiose, historical, and dramatic narratives favored by the academic tradition.1