Henri Rousseau

Rousseau painted jungles like dreams, lush, wild, and slightly surreal. The twist? He’d never been to one. A self-taught customs officer with a vivid imagination, he created worlds full of wide-eyed lions and sleeping gypsies. His art wasn’t polished—it was honest. Childlike but powerful. And while the critics laughed at first, the greats like Picasso stood up and clapped.