Theodore Rousseau
(b Lorient, Brittany, 23 March 1847; d St Leonards-on-Sea,
Sussex, 23 April 1926).
English painter and etcher of French birth. He was born and educated in
France and settled in England in 1878, when he quickly established a
reputation. Largely self-taught, his few extant early paintings show an
eclectic style that combines the techniques of the Old Masters, which he
studied in detail, with the subject-matter of modern urban life. In 1885
he was introduced to James McNeill Whistler, his neighbour in Chelsea,
London, and in consequence a lifelong friendship was formed. As Roussel
was a member of Whistler’s London circle his work in watercolour and oil
was influenced by the latter in style and choice of subject-matter. His
oft-quoted remark that he was a ‘pupil of Whistler’ is, however, belied
by his frequently distinct style, as seen in such paintings as the
Reading Girl (1886–7; London, Tate). In 1888 Whistler introduced him
to the techniques of etching and drypoint, resulting in such etchings as
the Sign of the ‘White Horse’, Parson’s Green (c. 1893–4).
For the remainder of his life he relentlessly pursued the medium, even,
like Whistler, designing his own special frames. Always fascinated by
the theoretical and practical nature of colour science, he constantly
experimented and was an early pioneer of the technique of colour etching
in England, producing such works as Dawn. An exhibitor with the
Royal Society of British Artists under Whistler’s presidency, he also
frequently exhibited with the New English Art Club and with the
International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, and he was a
founder-member of the Allied Artists’ Association in 1908.
