Portrait of the Artist's Father

The 'Portrait of the Artist's Father' is a piece by Henri Julien Félix Rousseau, a French Naïve or Primitive painter. Known affectionately as Le Douanier, Rousseau started painting in earnest only in his early forties, with this portrait among his famous works. A former toll and tax collector, Rousseau left his job at the age of 49 to pursue art full-time. His artistic style has been characterized as Naïve or Primitive, a type of art that rejects the modern aesthetic in favor of a more simplistic and straightforward perspective.