Henri Rousseau

Henri Julien Félix Rousseau was a French post-impressionist painter in the Naïve or Primitive manner. He was also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer), a humorous description of his occupation as a toll and tax collector. He started painting seriously in his early forties; by age 49, he retired from his job to work on his art full-time.

Ridiculed during his lifetime by critics, he came to be recognized as a self-taught genius whose works are of high artistic quality. Rousseau's work exerted an extensive influence on several generations of avant-garde artists.

Rousseau was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, in 1844 into the family of a plumber; he was forced to work there as a small boy. He attended Laval High School as a day student, and then as a boarder after his father became a debtor and his parents had to leave the town upon the seizure of their house. Though mediocre in some of his high school subjects, Rousseau won prizes for drawing and music.

After high school, he worked for a lawyer and studied law, but "attempted a small perjury and sought refuge in the army." He served four years, starting in 1863. With his father's death, Rousseau moved to Paris in 1868 to support his widowed mother as a government employee.

In 1868, he married Clémence Boitard, his landlord's 15-year-old daughter, with whom he had six children (only one survived). In 1871, he was appointed as a collector of the octroi of Paris, collecting taxes on goods entering Paris. His wife died in 1888 and he married Josephine Noury in 1898.

Artworks :

Tiger in a Tropical Storm

Tiger in a Tropical Storm was exhibited in 1891, and Rousseau received his first serious review when the young artist Félix Vallotton wrote: "His tiger surprising its prey ought not to be missed; it's the alpha and omega of painting." Yet it was more than a decade before Rousseau returned to depicting his vision of jungles.

Year : 1891

Medium : Oil on canvas

Dimensions : 130 cm × 162 cm (​511⁄8 in × ​633⁄4 in)

The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope

Following Scouts Attacked by a Tiger the previous year, The Hungry Lion was the second jungle painting to mark Rousseau's return to this genre after a 10-year hiatus caused by the generally negative reception to his 1891 painting Tiger in a Tropical Storm.

Year : exhibited in 1905

Medium : Oil on canvas

Dimensions : 200 cm × 301 cm (​783⁄4 in × ​1181⁄2 in)

introduction of the artist.

AHMAD ZAKI ANWAR  was born in Johor Baharu in Malaysia. He is the youngest of 6 children. Zakii developed his love for art at the age of 6. He attended Ngee Heng Primary School from 1962 until 1967 and went to secondary school at English College Johore Bahru. After graduation, Zakii was accepted into the School of Art and Design, MARA Institute of Technology.

The artist began his career as a graphic artist, producing some of the leading advertising graphics of his time. From there, he continued to establish his name by converting to a fine art where his techniques have been exemplary and world class. Zakii came to attention for his virtuosity and command of a spectrum of media from charcoals to oils, building a reputation for stunning photo-realist still-life paintings and expressive portraits. Later, a more contemporary edge surfaced in his works as Zakii introduced urban subjects and settings into his canvases. He is lauded for capturing not just city motifs and urban features but also a distinctive psychological dimension and cinematic quality in these scenarios. Zakii's preoccupation with the spiritual or metaphysical aspects of urban life, as seen through his use of icons, symbols and allegories (including metaphors of theatre, performance, and masks) have also marked his practice.

Ahmad Zaki Anwar, the lost master short trailer  :

Ahmad zaki Anwar artworks. [ That I lovee]

Hands Across the Water

Hands Across the Water presents the work of Ahmad Zakii Anwar (Johor Bahru), Kow Leong Kiang (Kuala Lumpur), Heri Dono (Jogyakarta), Choi Tae Hoon (Seoul), and Han Yong Jin (New York), each responding to their experiences traveling to Jeju Island and Seoul, South Korea.

Sep 13th – Oct 31st 2014

Los Angeles, 2600 S. La Cienega Blvd