Black Man Attacked by a Jaguar 1910

Henri Rousseau made this painting of a Black Man Attacked by a Jaguar with oil on canvas at an unknown date. It's easy to see the way Rousseau painstakingly built up the jungle scene, layer upon layer, with crisp details. I’m looking at the way he painted each leaf, almost obsessively. It’s not a representation of reality but a kind of constructed fantasy. I can imagine him being in his studio in Paris, surrounded by books and botanical illustrations, conjuring up this imagined vision of the jungle, but maybe he was just going to the botanical gardens? What was he thinking when he decided to stage this scene of violence? Did he want to address the history of colonialism? Or was he just interested in the drama of the scene, the contrast between the man and the beast? I can't help but think that Rousseau's work has influenced later painters. There’s something about his approach to color and composition that feels both naive and deeply sophisticated, like a dream.