The artwork entitled “View of the Bridge at Sevres and the Hills at Clamart, St. Cloud and Bellevue” was rendered in oil on canvas by Henri Rousseau in 1908. As a representation of the Naïve Art or Primitivism movement, the piece measures 100 by 81 centimeters and embodies the genre of cityscape. Currently, it resides within the confines of the Pushkin Museum located in Moscow, Russia.
The artwork portrays a serene and fantastical landscape scene, somewhat typical of Rousseau’s style. A sweeping view of the bridge at Sevres captures the foreground, leading the eye to the softly modeled hills at Clamart, dotted with trees and buildings that convey a serene suburbia. Dominating the aerial space are whimsical flying machines—an airship and a biplane—rendered in a manner that predates their common usage, reflecting both contemporary fascination with aviation and a touch of the fantastical. On the right, a row of distinctly shaped trees stands in sharp contrast to the lush, free-form vegetation elsewhere, demonstrating Rousseau’s unique approach to form and perspective.
In its totality, the artwork reveals Rousseau’s distinctive self-taught technique, vibrant imagination, and his penchant for juxtaposing modernity with the timeless idyllic nature of the landscape. The creative inclusion of technologically advanced elements alongside a traditional setting invites a contemplative inspection of the cusp of industrial progress within the tranquil environment.
