Henri Rousseau’s War (La Guerre) (1894) painting retro wall art vintage photo prints antique picture Horizontal Orientation Poster

Museum-quality posters made on thick matte paper. Add a wonderful accent to your room and office with these posters that are sure to brighten any environment.

• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil
• Paper weight: 189 g/m²
• Opacity: 94%
• ISO brightness: 104%
• Paper is sourced from Japan

“Henri Rousseau’s War” (La Guerre) is an artwork created by the French artist Henri Rousseau in 1894. Rousseau was known for his distinctive style that often blended realism with dream-like and imaginative elements. “La Guerre” is one of his notable works, showcasing his unique approach to depicting scenes.

The embodiment of war takes shape as a fierce, white-clad woman astride a dark steed, charging through a barren expanse strewn with lifeless bodies. A palette devoid of color and vitality leaves only desolation and ruin in its wake. The stark contrast of a clear blue sky intensifies the impact of her passage: a scorched tree lingers in her rear, while a gray, foreboding tree stands poised for impending destruction. In her grasp, a blazing torch and an unadorned sword; yet, this is no conventional Bellona, the Roman war goddess. Instead, she emerges as an elemental force, humanity’s darkest impulses harnessed into an irresistible natural power.

In this vision, Rousseau permits no glimmer of hope. His most violent subject materializes, with fallen humans resembling severed tree branches, their pale flesh taking on an orange hue akin to smoldering clouds. Jutting black elements recur, from the elongated cascade of the horse’s mane to War’s very hair, almost resembling an animal’s hide. This pattern reappears in the hair of some victims and in the crows pecking at their remains. The aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and the Siege of Paris in 1871 left an indelible impact on Rousseau, evident even in the 1890s, with numerous amputees visible on the city’s streets.

The catalog entry for the Salon des Indépendants, where the painting debuted in 1894, succinctly described it as: “War; she passes terrifyingly, leaving despair, tears, ruin all around.” Rousseau depicts the horse reminiscent of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, drawing inspiration from the Book of Revelation, while appropriating the form of Théodore Géricault’s supine racer in “Epsom Derby 1821.” Although Eadweard Muybridge’s photographs had verified that all four hooves never leave the ground simultaneously in this manner, the chilling image of War hovering above her victims proved more visually captivating than empirical accuracy.

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