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Why did Henri Rousseau want Laval to own The Sleeping Gypsy?
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Henri Rousseau
Myself: Portrait-Landscape, oil on canvas by Henri Rousseau, 1890; in the National Gallery, Prague. 146 × 113 cm.
Henri Rousseau offered to sell his 1897 painting, The Sleeping Gypsy, to the town of Laval because he intended the work to serve as a tribute to his hometown.12
At the time, Rousseau possessed great confidence in his artistic abilities and considered himself a significant painter. Despite his intentions, the mayor of Laval viewed the painting as childish and rejected the offer.12