Painter Henri Julien Félix Rousseau was ridiculed during much of his lifetime for painting in a naïve or primitive manner, but eventually, with the endorsement of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and other younger artists, was considered a self-taught genius. His best-known work depicts imaginary jungle scenes inspired by illustrated books and the botanical gardens in Paris, but he also painted smaller scenes of the city and its suburbs. His most famous painting is La Bohémienne endormie (1897).