# Henri Rousseau

French, 1844–1910; born in Laval; died in Paris

Rousseau worked for years as a clerk in the Paris toll service, which earned him the nickname “le Douanier”, and taught himself to paint, exhibiting from 1886 at the jury-free Salon des Indépendants. Critics mocked his flat, meticulous style, but younger artists, Picasso among them, came to admire it. He is best known for his dense jungle scenes with wild animals, composed from visits to the Paris botanical garden and zoo and from illustrated books, without his ever leaving France.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

3 works in the collection.

- [Sawmill, Outskirts of Paris](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/sawmill-outskirts-of-paris-aic-68433), Henri Rousseau, c. 1893/95. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [Fight Between a Tiger and a Buffalo](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/fight-between-a-tiger-and-a-buffalo-cma-126769), Henri Rousseau, 1908. Courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art.
- [The Repast of the Lion](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-repast-of-the-lion-met-438822), Henri Rousseau, ca. 1907. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.