early life and the unconventional path to art henri julien félix rousseau, a french post-impressionist painter, was born on may 21, 1844, in laval, france. his life's trajectory was far from the conventional path of an artist. initially, he worked as a customs officer, earning him the nickname le douanier. it wasn't until his early forties that rousseau began to paint seriously, eventually retiring from his job to dedicate himself full…