Henri Rousseau and His Works Henri Rousseau, known as the "Customs Officer," is one of the most extraordinary artists in the history of art. He did not study in academies, nor did he participate in Parisian salons as a professional. He worked at the customs office and painted on Sundays. His paintings were first mocked for their naivety, incorrect perspective, and "childishness." But it was this naivety that became his greatness. Today, Rousseau's paintings hang in the Louvre and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and his name is alongside the pioneers of avant-garde. How did a tax collector become a genius? Let's find out. Who is Henri Rousseau Henri Rousseau was born in 1844 in the city of La Vallee on the northwest coast of France. He served in the army, then worked at the customs office (hence the nickname). He began to paint late, around 40 years old, as a self-taught artist. He had never seen jungles, except for botanical gardens in Paris and illustrated magazines. But his imagination painted exotic landscapes with tigers, monkeys, plants that did not grow in the same climatic zone. He regularly exhibited at the Salon des Independants, where his works were first mocked. By the end of his life, he was recognized by young avant-garde artists, including Picasso. He died in 1910, poor but with faith in his greatness. Style: Naive but Not Primitivist Rousseau is associated with "naive art" (art brut). His technique: smooth, almost flat painting, absence of aerial perspective, objects on the foreground and background depicted equally clearly, bright, almost acid colors. However, there is depth hidden in this "childishness." Figures are frozen as in a dream. Compositions are symmetrical but full of hidden tension. Rousseau created his own world where stillness achieves mystical power. Most Famous Paintings "Sleeping Gypsy" (1897) — a lion sniffs a sleeping woman but does not touch her. Moonlight, desert, musical instrument. Riddle. "Tropical Storm: Tig ... Read more