Henri Rousseau (dit le Douanier)

Galerie Bing, Paris

Albert D. Lasker, New York

Private Collection (acquired from the above in 1961and thence by descent to the present owner)

(possibly) Paris, Salon des Indépendants, 1896, no. 985 (titled Vue de Canal de Charenton, Soleil couchant)

Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Henri Rousseau le Douanier, 1944-45, no. 14

New York, Sidney Janis Gallery, Henri Rousseau, 1951, no. 2

Tübingen, Kunsthalle, Henri Rousseau, 2001, no. 20

Wilhelm Uhde, Cinq Maîtres primitifs, Paris, 1949, illustrated on the cover and on p. 53

Maximilien Gauthier, Henri Rousseau, Les Gemeaux, 1949, illustrated pl. 17

Lo Duca, Henri Rousseau dit le Douanier, Paris, 1951, illustrated p. 8

Jean Bouret, Henri Rousseau, Neuchâtel, 1961, illustrated pl. 23

Dora Vallier, Henri Rousseau, New York, 1961, no. 80, illustrated (titled Suburb: The Banks of Marne and as dating from circa 1905)

Dora Vallier, L'Opera completa di Rousseau il Doganiere, Milan, 1969, no. 166, illustrated p. 103 (alternately titled Paesaggio fluviale con tre pescatori, Paesaggio nei dintorni di Parigi, and Sobborgo sulla Marna and as dating from circa 1905)

Dora Vallier, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Henri Rousseau le Douanier, Paris, 1970, no. 166, illustrated pp. 104-05 (titled Paysage de banlieue and as dating from circa 1905)

Lise & Oto Bihalji-Merin, Leben und Werk des Malers Henri Rousseau, Dresden, 1971, no. 7, illustrated

Lise & Oto Bihalji-Merin, Henri Rousseau -- Leben und Werk, Cologne, 1976, no. 2, illustrated

Carolyn Keay, Henri Rousseau.  Le Douanier, New York, 1976, no. 32, illustrated p. 135

Yves Le Pichon, Le Monde du Douanier Rousseau, Paris, 1981, illustrated p. 116

Henri Certigny, Le Douanier Rousseau et son Temps, Tokyo, 1984, vol. I, no. 124, illustrated p. 249

In this tranquil scene from the turn of the century, Rousseau portrays the serenity of suburban life on the outskirts of Paris. Though many scholars have dated the picture from 1905, it is believed that the work was painted as early as 1896 and was possibly exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants.  The  catalogue for that exhibition describes a view of Charenton Canal at sunset, which could very well be a description of the present work.  The location of the scene has never been determined, but the town of Marne has often been suggested.

In a recent exhibition catalogue of Rousseau's work, Götz Adriani has written the following description of this picture: "Here is another view of his Paris suburbs, one woven with a combination of wide horizontals and finely drawn vertical elements.  Between the turquoise of the stationary water and the cloudy sky is a zone enriched by colours, consisting of a variety of cubic architectural constituents placed in terse relationship to each other.  Their front and side views are freely combined, outside the rules of perspective.  A single red roof nicely complements the dominating cool blue and grey tones, appropriate to the winter season.  The silhouettes of trees and fog banks contrast with the slate grey and zinc of the remaining roofs.  The painter's addiction to serialisation can be seen in the simplified windows.  The picket fence runs through the painting in a single line, dividing the riverbank promenade from the factory" (Henri Rousseau (exhibition catalogue), Tübingen Kunsthalle, 2001, p. 106)