The Banks of the Bièvre near Bicêtre

Henri Rousseau (21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910), was a French Post-Impressionist painter, born in Laval, France who became famous for his vibrantly colored and imaginative jungle scenes, often populated with exotic animals. He was one of the first modern artists to paint in a primitivist style, and his works were highly influential on the development of Surrealism and other avant-garde movements. He worked as a customs officer in Paris for most of his life, and he began painting in his free time around the age of 40. He was self-taught and had no formal training in art.