I cannot now change my style, which I acquired, as you can imagine, by dint of labour.

In 1905 Rousseau's large jungle scene The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope was exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants near works by younger leading avant-garde artists such as Henri Matisse in what is now seen as the first showing of The Fauves. Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!) was exhibited in 1891 and Rousseau received his first serious review when the young artist Félix Vallotton wrote: "His tiger surprising its prey ought not to be missed; it's the alpha and omega of painting.

Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (French pronunciation: ​[ɑ̃ʁi ʒyljɛ̃ feliks ʁuso]) (May 21 1844 – September 2 1910) was a French Post-Impressionist painter in the Naïve or Primitive manner. He was also known as Le Douanier (the customs officer) a humorous description of his occupation as a toll collector. Ridiculed during his lifetime he came to be recognized as a self-taught genius whose works are of high artistic quality.