Henri Rousseau

Most accounts of Henri Rousseau either mention or allude to his naivete and his child-like innocence. While Rousseau's work was not easily classified into any definitive artistic style of the time--impressionism, post-impressionism, fauvism or cubism--it has been considered a forerunner of surrealism because of its dream-like sensibility. Rousseau showed his paintings at progressive exhibitions such as the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne.

Although critics ridiculed his efforts, he never lost confidence inhis own ability and even saved his reviews in a scrapbook. He was a favorite of the Parisian avant-garde artists and literary figures who admired his work for its simultaneously primitive and modern qualities. At the time of his death in 1910, Rousseau's paintings had begun to sell. A monograph of his work was published the following year, further promoting his reputation.