Henri Rousseau
Born May 21, 1844 was a French Post-Impressionist painter in the Naïve or Primitive manner. He is also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer) after his place of employment. Rousseau's flat, seemingly childish style gave him many critics; people often were shocked by his work or ridiculed it. His ingenuousness was extreme, and he was unaware that establishment artists considered him untutored. He always aspired, in vain, to conventional acceptance. Many observers commented that he painted like a child, but the work shows sophistication with his particular technique. He is known for his richly coloured and meticulously detailed pictures of lush jungles, wild beasts, and exotic figures, even though he never left France or saw a jungle. He died in Paris on Sept. 2, 1910.
