Henri Rousseau

It is not only due to his spectacular jungle paintings that Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), known as “Le Douanier” (the customs officer), ranks among the most popular artists of early modernity. This book commemorates the one-hundredth anniversary of the artist’s death. With over eighty colour illustrations of forty major works, the publication presents the essence of Rousseau’s art of depiction. At its core is his fascination with the contradictory qualities of the tamed Western world and untamed, increasingly imaginary nature. Encounters with his works that have never before been presented make it possible to see Rousseau in an entirely new light. Going beyond the cliché of the “great naïve painter,” we discover a unique artist who opened up entirely new possibilities for modernity.