They say that one day in 1910 the young Pablo Picasso invited several friends to his house, among whom was Henry Rousseau, le Douanier. All the guests and the host himself appreciated le Douanier, but they loved him with a love that was not without pity, like someone caressing a helpless and cold dog. That is why Pablo could not help but be interested -quite sarcastically- in a painting titled "Jungle with Woman on a Divan and Flute Player" that the customs officer had presented at the Salon des Independientes that same year. Picasso winked at those present and asked the man from Laval how it could be explained that a naked woman lying on a red couch could be in the middle of the jungle. Rousseau's response was immediate: "Dear Paul, Yadwigha in a beautiful dream has fallen gently asleep; she hears the sound of a piccolo oboe played by a well-meaning snake charmer. As the moon reflects on the rivers, the green trees and wild snakes listen to the happy melodies of the instrument. Yadwigha sleeps in her house, but her wonderful dream has transported her to the wild jungles." Since then the painting was renamed "Le Rêve".
Guillaume Apollinaire, one of the guests at the Picasso evening, would shortly after write a review of the painting that said: "Indisputably, the image radiates beauty; I think this year no one will laugh at Henry Rousseau." Unfortunately, Henry was not able to read it because that same day he died in the Necker hospital.
Henry Rousseau, le Douanier, was never in the jungles of Africa, nor did he need to because his imagination was enough for him.