"Dream" 204.5×299 cm, 1910, held by the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Rousseau (Douanier Rousseau 1844~1910) is the world's most renowned naive painter. Benefiting from the Salon des Indépendants (exempt from review, open participation), he participated in exhibitions annually from 1886 until his death. This unique figure attracted the attention of avant-garde painters such as Delaunay, Derain, and Picasso, as well as the favor of poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire, who became Rousseau's spokesperson, defending his extraordinary art, thus entering him into art history.

Rousseau's life was unremarkable. He married Clemence Boitard at age 25 and had nine children, but unfortunately only one daughter survived. Through connections, he obtained a position at the Paris Customs (historically mistaken for a customs officer, he was actually a tax collector). He resigned in 1885 to pursue painting, beginning to copy masterpieces at the Louvre, an act that served as a warm-up for his creation. Soon after, his beloved wife passed away, and he remarried Rosalie Nourry, but she also died of illness four years later. From then on, he devoted himself entirely to painting. Clearly, copying did not alter his strong instinctual spontaneity, nor his straightforward and fresh visual language and imaginative space.

From the numerous mysterious primeval forests and exotic landscapes painted by Rousseau, legends narrate that he traveled to Mexico or Africa; this belief seemed true based on his works. In fact, Rousseau never left Paris during his lifetime. His inspiration for these primeval forests and exotic scenes came from the lush botanical gardens of Paris and the image packaging of large department stores. His unique pure painting art occupies a special place in Western modern art history. This primitive painting style is highly emotional, simple, and innocent. His bizarre works often possess a captivating charm and extraordinary imagination. Extraordinary masterpieces include: War, Sleeping Gypsy, The Snake Charmer, and Dream.