Henri Rousseau, nicknamed “the customs officer,” worked in Paris as a simple clerk and part-time customs officer. He never studied in art academies and never traveled abroad, but he dreamed of distant lands. His inspiration came from the city’s botanical gardens and illustrated magazines about nature.

One day, Rousseau showed his friends his new masterpiece — a huge canvas filled with wild jungles, vines, and exotic animals. One of them asked in surprise:

— Henri, you’ve never been to Africa, have you?

— Of course not! Rousseau replied cheerfully. Why travel to Africa if I can invent it myself?

The painting made critics laugh: “The elephants look like stuffed toys, the tigers seem to smile, and the vines are painted like ropes!” Friends and colleagues often teased the “naïve painter.” But Rousseau never felt offended and confidently said:

— The time will come when people will see that this is the truth.

And that time did come: many avant-garde artists (including Picasso) admired his work. One legendary evening in art history proves it. Picasso hosted a banquet in Rousseau’s honor. The guests — all the stars of Paris — laughed at the simple-minded painter. But Rousseau raised his glass and solemnly declared:

— We are both the greatest painters of our time: you in modern style, and I in the primitive style.

This confidence, spoken amidst the laughter of the crowd, sounded almost comical. Yet today Rousseau’s works hang in the world’s greatest museums. And in the end, the “naïve customs officer” turned out to be right