Le douanier

Le Douanier is a term often used to refer to Henri Rousseau, a French post-impressionist painter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The nickname "Le Douanier" (the customs officer) was a humorous description of his occupation as a toll and tax collector.

Early Life

Rousseau was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, in 1844. He was the son of a plumber. He attended Laval High School as a day student and then as a boarder, after his father became a debtor and his parents had to leave the town upon the seizure of their house.

Career

Rousseau started painting seriously in his early forties, and by age 49, he retired from his job to work on his art full-time. Rousseau's best-known works are his jungle scenes, even though he never left France or saw a jungle. Stories spread by admirers that his army service included the French expeditionary force to Mexico are unfounded. His inspiration came from illustrated books and the botanical gardens in Paris, as well as tableaux of taxidermied wild animals.

Legacy

Rousseau's work exerted an extensive influence on several generations of avant-garde artists, including Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, and the Surrealists. His work is often categorized as Naïve art or Primitivism, due to the artist's self-taught style and focus on instinct and emotion over academic theory.

See Also

• Naïve art
• Primitivism
• Post-Impressionism
• Pablo Picasso
• Surrealism