Henri Rousseau: A Pioneer of Naïve Vision Henri Julien Félix Rousseau, born in Laval, France, in 1844, was a figure whose life and art defied easy categorization. Initially destined for a career as a government employee, Rousseau’s path shifted dramatically when he abandoned his clerical duties to pursue the passionate calling of painting at the age of forty-four. This late embrace of creativity would profoundly shape his unique artistic vision – a world brimming with exotic jungles, mythical creatures, and deeply felt emotions rendered in a style now recognized as “naïve art.” Rousseau’s st…