Henri Rousseau (1844-1910)

In 1908, artists in Bateau-Lavoir organized a banquet in memory of Henri Dousseau. Picasso took the initiative, and the dinner was held in his studio. The room was decorated with black masks and paintings by Rousseau collected by Picasso. At the far end of the room sat Dousseau’s impromptu “throne.” The ceremony was essentially a grand gathering at Montmartre, attended by Georges Braque, Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Gertride Steine, and others. “I am a modern man, you are an Egyptian.” From then on, amateur art initiated by Rousseau was called “primitive” or “artistic brut” and entered art history. Douanier Rousseau was invited to join the “Van Gogh Art Furniture Club,” decorating his studio with “Sleeping Bohemian Style” (1897), “Dream” (1910), and “Les Flemish” (1903), while his self-portrait and palette appeared next to “For the Day of the Babies,” seemingly trying to escape the scene.