How did these "naive" amateur painters, including postal workers, gardeners, and maids, make a comeback and show you the exhibition

More than a hundred years ago, a group of amateur painters emerged in Paris without professional training. Their art style was considered childish and amateur, but it was this group of painters known as the "immature faction" who left unique works for the world.

Recently, the "Daydream - A Wonderful World of Naive Artists" exhibition is being exhibited at the Jiushi Art Museum in Shanghai. After watching these 55 oil paintings, it feels like having a daydream. Returning to reality, can you fulfill your dream in your heart?

They drew their hearts

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, while Western painting was undergoing unprecedented changes, a group of amateur painters emerged in France. They had not received systematic artistic education and training, and used simple and innocent painting art to record and share the details of life.

Entering the exhibition hall of the Jiushi Art Museum in Shanghai, a sentence by German collector William Ude is printed on the wall: "They paint their hearts, not what traditional or teacher taught them to paint." However, curator Alex Susana understands this group of independent painters as follows: "From an artistic perspective, they are not bound by theory and tend to be on the edge of history; from a practical perspective, most of these independent painters come from the working class. For them, art is a spontaneous way of depicting the world, and their purpose in painting is limited to sharing personal, vivid, and brilliant artistic perspectives with the world."

This exhibition presents the works of 9 immature painters, and their comic portraits and life stories are presented to the audience one by one. Henry Rousseau, the founder of the immature movement, was once a customs officer in Paris, Louis Vivan was a postal worker, Sahafin Louis was a maid, Dominic Perone was a veteran, Andre Bouchanne was a gardener, Camille Bonboux was a wrestler, Rene Renbert was a postal official, Jean Eve was a mechanic, and Ferdinand Desnos was a country musician. This group of painters with "dual identities" have never received guidance from famous artists in school or training classes. Their rich imagination stems from print media such as newspapers, picture albums, catalogs, and postcards.

The exhibition hall displays the lives of the painters

The exhibition consists of 5 sections: "Sunday Dining Table" depicting still life paintings, "Walking with Me" depicting people and the environment, "Magic City" depicting urban scenery, "Dream Garden" depicting blooming flowers, and "Wonderful Nature" depicting natural scenes. These works exude a sense of roughness: bold and even chaotic color combinations, and composition that goes against common sense, but it is precisely this roughness that gives people a unique visual experience.

Don't underestimate these amateur painters. Although they have been labeled as "amateur", "scatterbrained", "childish", or even "unaware of what they are painting", they have broken through the artistic nature of traditional painting language and found an outlet for expressionism, fauvism, and cubism to break away from traditional painting forms. Their combination of flat processing and scattered perspective, which goes against the three-dimensional perspective of classical art, provides inspiration for surrealist art.

Interestingly, the immature painters did not know each other. Some of their works have appeared in salons, while others have received sponsorship from renowned collectors and critics. "When we gaze at the works of the immature painters, we can feel different emotions in the flat decoration created by the painters. These emotions come from the surface of the picture and penetrate deeper into the viewer's heart. We cannot feel any distractions in their paintings, but are only attracted by the powerful spiritual power in their paintings. This is the original intention of holding this exhibition." The curator truly said, "When the popularization of art history has become a prominent subject today, and when the familiar art has become a popular vocabulary among the public, we should not forget the brilliant star of the immature painters in the sea of art stars. Our eyes will be intricately mature by the academic school." Drawing techniques attract us, and our hearts are also deeply moved by these works created with our hearts

Henry Rousseau's The Mill, 1896 Privatecollection © Jean AlexBrunelle

Portrait scenery immerses oneself in the scene

Henry Rousseau, the founder of the Immature School, had an artistic career trajectory similar to that of the great painter Gauguin.

Gauguin was once an ordinary stockbroker in Paris. After becoming obsessed with painting, he went alone to the Brittany Peninsula to seek inspiration. Henry Rousseau was born in 1844 into a family of tin smiths and studied law in his early years. Starting from the age of 27, he worked as a Paris customs collector for over 20 years. In his spare time, Rousseau enjoyed drawing, and at the age of 42, he participated in the Paris Independence Salon for the first time. Rousseau did not choose to live in seclusion like Gauguin, but instead wandered through the art world of Paris as an alternative identity of a stranger. His paintings, which are full of childlike charm, have some peculiar colors, and seem to lack rationality in composition, often receive criticism and even ridicule in the media. However, at the same time, they have also attracted the attention of well-known artists and writers such as Degas, Renoir, Alfred Yarry, and Guillaume Apollinaire.

In 1908, at the age of 27, Picasso bought a painting by Henry Rousseau for 5 francs. He once exclaimed, "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but it took me a lifetime to paint like a child." He knew that Henry Rousseau had done it.

Henry Rousseau's Portrait of a Lady and a bouquet showcased on site in the exhibition hall

Henry Rousseau gradually led a trend of returning to simplicity in Paris: pursuing childishness, simplicity, freedom, and freedom. The Mill, which appeared in this exhibition, was born in 1896. The sky and lake in the picture are clear and blue, with dark green forests and lush greenery. The mill with red tiles and white walls, as well as the shaded path that spreads into the distance, exude a simple and peaceful atmosphere. Although Rousseau lived in Paris all year round, his paintings never made people feel a hint of the hustle and bustle of the city. He constructs pure and serene natural landscapes with unique compositions and lively color combinations. Upon careful observation of this artwork, the small angler in the foreground is very unique, as he is positioned closest to the audience in all the visual elements. This is Rousseau's self created painting technique - "Portrait Scenery". He is accustomed to placing characters at the front of the picture, while giving them representative and unique scenery at the back. This creative approach is like a unique "flat mime", quietly immersing the audience.

Compared to landscape painting, Henry Rousseau's portrait painting appears more childish and rustic. The portrait of a lady and bouquet in the exhibition is a small painting created in the artist's later years. It is said that this portrait painting took him a full three years. On the left side of the screen is a portrait of a woman, and on the right is a still life flower. The combination of two different elements is Rousseau's typical "portrait landscape" painting technique. Rousseau's portrait works always give people a sense of unease in the details, and he is better at expressing the complexity of characters in a surreal way than the realistic style of the academy. He always combines fantasy imagination in a direct and sharp way, creating an unexpected sense of conflict and drama.

Sahafin Lewis' Bouquet and Leaves', 1929-1930 Courtesy galerie Dina Vierny, Paris ©Jean Louis Losi

Fan Gaoshi's fanaticism and brilliance

Among the nine naive painters who appeared in this exhibition, there is one female painter, who is known as the "female version of Van Gogh" by Sahafin Lewis.

In 1864, Sahafin was born into a pastoral family in the department of Vaz, France. To make a living, she worked as a maid and housekeeper for many years. In her spare time, she self-taught painting and was influenced and inspired by religious art and church stained glass, creating a unique style of "flower and leaf painting".

In 1912, Sahafin's works were discovered by German collector William Ude. Two years later, the collector's support for her was forced to be interrupted due to the war. In 1927, under the sponsorship of Ude, Sahafin's artistic creation entered a new stage. Ude organized an exhibition of "Sacred Heart Painters", in which Sahafin and renowned immature artists such as Rousseau participated. She rose to fame as a representative of immature female artists. But perhaps it was the ups and downs of her life experiences that had a physical and mental impact on Sahafin. In 1932, at the age of 68, she was hospitalized due to mental illness until her death. Painting is the only and most important way for her to reveal her inner self throughout her life.

The movie "Flowers Falling and Blossoming" released in 2008 tells the story of Sahafin's life and won the Best Picture award at the 2009 Caesar Awards.

Sahafin Louis's Untitled, c. 1915 Private Collection ©Jean Louis Losi

The work "bouquet in front of a red background" once appeared in this movie. The delicate blue flowers in the painting are adorned in lush green foliage, like eyes full of vitality, or like sparkling gemstones. People who like Sahafin feel that her works have a Van Gogh style fanaticism, brilliance, and originality, while also possessing a religious style solemnity and sanctity.

Leaves, bouquets, and fruits in a bottle were created between 1929 and 1930. In this dreamlike blue Eden, the blooming plants seem to emit a mysterious magnetic field and diffuse from the canvas. Gazing at Sahafin's works, it feels like stepping into an invisible secret realm.

In addition to the works of Rousseau and Sahafin, Louis Vivan's Arc de Triomphe is also impressive. As a landmark building in Paris, the Arc de Triomphe has always been a symbol of victory and peace, but in Vivan's writing, it adds a touch of leisure and tranquility.

Dominic Perone's "Cliffs and the Sea", Fondation Dina Vierny - Mus é e Maillol, 1931 ©Jean Alex Brunelle

Looking at Dominic Perone's "Cliffs and the Sea," it's hard to imagine that he was once a soldier. The wavy waves in the painting gradually deepen from near to far, and the unmanned small boat on the left floats aimlessly on the sea, forming a dark contrast with the deep and peculiar rocks on the right. Although it may seem like a serene scene of blue sea and sky, under the artist's exquisite layout and arrangement, a mysterious and uneasy atmosphere is revealed. The disorder in the picture reveals order, and within the order lies hidden restlessness.

Rene Renbert's Pink Poster is not very eye-catching in this exhibition, but it has a serene power. In the center of the screen, there is an ordinary poster with almost no content. This light foggy pink block forms a unique contrast with the slightly melancholic street. The empty corner is only passed by by sporadic pedestrians, and the clear sky and clouds seem to be a silent narration. Why do artists focus on this seemingly ordinary perspective? We don't know, but this painting does give people an unexpected visual impact.