During his 66 year lifespan, artist Henri Rousseau never left his French homeland. Despite that lack of worldly travel, Rousseau was transfixed by stories of jungles reflected in his colorful, post-Impressionist paintings. Self-taught, his style was often mocked by critics for being flat and childish, but Rousseau, like many of his contemporaries interested in “primitivist” paintings, would retort that the dense fauna and “exotic” women came from an avant-garde obsession with nature. Today, the concept of naïve art is problematic, if not offensive, but the genre’s impact is unmeasurable. See one of Rousseau’s most infamous works, The Snake Charmer, at the Toledo Museum of Art during a brief loan from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris as part of the new exhibit, The Snake Charmer and the French Avant-Garde. Through December 31.
Toledo Museum of Art | 2445 Monroe St
419-255-8000 | toledomuseum.org | Free
