Carnival Evening

Gallery 263, European Art 1850-1900, second floor (Gray Charitable Trust Gallery II)

Main Building

Carnival Evening

1886

Henri-Julien-Félix Rousseau (French, 1844–1910)

An air of mystery pervades this wintry forest landscape. Dressed in festive carnival costumes, a lone couple stands in front of barren trees. The figures seem to shine from within rather than from the light of the moon, which has strangely left the forest in darkness. An unexplained face leers out from the empty hut beside the figures, and an unexpected street lamp incongruously glows nearby. Known for his fantastic scenes, Rousseau was a self-taught artist whose works appealed to the collectors and avant-garde artists of the early twentieth century, including Pablo Picasso.

Gallery 263, European Art 1850-1900, second floor (Gray Charitable Trust Gallery II)

Object Details

Title:

Carnival Evening

Date:

1886

Artist:

Henri-Julien-Félix Rousseau (French, 1844–1910)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

46 3/16 × 35 1/4 inches (117.3 × 89.5 cm) Framed: 53 5/8 × 43 3/4 × 4 3/4 inches (136.2 × 111.1 × 12.1 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

The Louis E. Stern Collection, 1963

Accession Number:

1963-181-64

Geography:

Made in Europe

Provenance

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Gallery 263, European Art 1850-1900, second floor (Gray Charitable Trust Gallery II)

Main Building

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