Amanda Hall has painted Henri Rousseau into his own works. This is a tricky thing to do well. In The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau, a biography written by Michelle Markel, Hall's incorporations are seamless. And more importantly, they feel right.
Right from the start of the book you can feel Hall's deep affinity for Rousseau. In her illustrator's notes she writes about seeing a Rousseau painting for the first time, "It was as though someone turned on a light in my head, a light that shone on something I recognized or remembered." An inspiring story gracefully told, The Fantastic Jungle of Henri Rousseau has illuminating power of its own.
If you visit The Chris Beetles Gallery on line you can see many of the illustrations from The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau. Visit I.N.K. to read a Q and A with Michelle Markel.
The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau
HARDCOVER; Published: 6/11/2012
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5364-6