The artworks of Henri Rousseau invite us to see the world through a lens of wonder and imagination. His paintings, born from a humble toll collector’s dreams, continue to inspire artists and viewers alike. On May 21st, we celebrate Henri Rousseau's birthday with a look back at his life and art.

Born in Laval, France, Henri Rousseau (1844–1910) led a modest life, working as a toll collector in Paris after serving in the military. With no formal art training, he began painting in his 40s, driven by an innate passion for creation. His early works, developed in his spare time, laid the foundation for his distinctive naive style.  

Emergence of the Naive Style (1885–1893)

By the mid-1880s, Rousseau began exhibiting at the Salon des Indépendants, a venue open to unconventional artists. This period saw him develop his signature naive style, blending meticulous detail with fantastical elements. He drew inspiration from nature, zoos, and exotic imagery, despite never leaving France. Rousseau’s works from this period feature flat planes, vivid hues, and a disregard for conventional perspective. His scenes, though grounded in reality, began to take on a surreal, poetic quality, earning him both ridicule and admiration. Some examples:

• Carnival Evening (1886): One of his first major works, this painting depicts a couple in costume under a moonlit sky, with eerie, stylized trees. Its dreamlike quality and flat composition marked Rousseau’s departure from realism.
• Myself, Portrait-Landscape (1890): This ambitious self-portrait shows Rousseau standing in a Parisian landscape, holding a palette, with a ship and hot air balloon in the background. The quirky proportions and bold colors reflect his naive charm.

Jungle Paintings and Peak Creativity (1894–1905)

Rousseau’s most iconic phase began in the 1890s, when he started creating his famous jungle scenes. Inspired by visits to Paris’s Jardin des Plantes and botanical illustrations, these works transported viewers to lush, imaginary wildernesses. This period solidified his reputation as a visionary. Some examples:

• Surprised! (1891): His first jungle painting, depicting a tiger in a stormy, verdant forest, showcases his ability to create drama through vivid colors and stylized foliage. The tiger’s intense gaze and the lightning-lit scene are hauntingly surreal.
• The Sleeping Gypsy (1897): This masterpiece features a reclining figure under a starry sky, watched by a lion. The serene yet mysterious composition blends reality and fantasy, with meticulous details in the gypsy’s clothing and the desert landscape.
• The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope (1905): Exhibited at the Salon d’Automne, this vibrant jungle scene, with its fierce lion and dense, layered vegetation, stunned viewers and influenced the Fauvist movement.

Rousseau’s jungle paintings are defined by dense, overlapping foliage, bold colors, and a dreamlike atmosphere. He used meticulous brushwork to create texture, despite his flat perspective, and his animals—often based on taxidermy or illustrations—exude a primal energy.This period was Rousseau’s most prolific, producing works that blended innocence and intensity. Though mocked by critics, he gained admirers like Pablo Picasso and the avant-garde, who saw genius in his unpolished style.

Later Years and Continued Experimentation (1906–1910)

In his final years, Rousseau, now in his 60s, continued to paint with fervor, experimenting with new themes while refining his naive aesthetic. He faced financial struggles and personal tragedies but remained dedicated to his art, often incorporating allegorical and patriotic elements. Some examples:

• The Snake Charmer (1907): Commissioned by a patron, this painting depicts a mysterious figure playing a flute in a moonlit jungle, with snakes slithering through dense foliage. Its exotic, almost mystical quality captivated Parisian audiences.
• The Dream (1910): Rousseau’s final major work, shown at the Salon des Indépendants, portrays a nude woman reclining on a sofa in a lush jungle, surrounded by animals and vibrant plants. The surreal juxtaposition and glowing colors make it one of his most celebrated pieces.
• War (1894, revisited in later works): This earlier allegorical painting, showing a figure on horseback amid a chaotic battlefield, was echoed in later works with patriotic themes, reflecting Rousseau’s fascination with grand narratives.

Rousseau’s late works retained his naive hallmarks—flat forms, vivid colors, and fantastical scenes—but showed greater confidence in composition. He experimented with larger canvases and more complex narratives, blending the real and the imagined.Rousseau died in 1910, poor and largely unrecognized by the mainstream art world. Yet, his final years saw growing respect from younger artists, including Picasso, who hosted a banquet in his honor in 1908.

Legacy and Rediscovery

Henri Rousseau’s work was initially dismissed as amateurish, but his bold vision influenced modern art movements like Surrealism, Fauvism, and Cubism. His paintings, once mocked, are now celebrated for their originality and emotional depth. Major exhibitions, such as the 1985 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the 2006 show at the Musée d’Orsay, brought his work to global audiences.