The Dream

A naked woman lounges on a plush red sofa, and somehow that sofa has ended up in the heart of a moonlit jungle. This is "The Dream," painted by Henri Rousseau in 1910, the last big work he finished before he died that same year. All around the reclining figure grow lotus blossoms, thick leaves, and shadowy trees, while lions peer out from the greenery and a pale moon hangs in the sky. The scene follows no earthly logic, and Rousseau meant it that way. He was chasing the odd feeling of a dream, where a fancy couch can sit comfortably in the wildest of places.

Here is the surprising part: Rousseau never set foot in a real jungle. He spent his days as a toll collector in Paris, which earned him the nickname "Le Douanier," or the customs officer. His tropical worlds came from wandering the city's botanical gardens, flipping through books, and letting his imagination fill in the rest. Plenty of critics mocked his flat, almost childlike way of painting while he was alive, but younger artists like Picasso recognized something rare in his sincere, dreamy pictures. He is now remembered as a master of naive art, living proof that a person without any formal training can still make images people never forget.