Rousseau first attracted wide-spread attention with his prize-winning essay Discours sur les Sciences et les Arts (Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts) (1750), in which he decried the harmful effects of modern civilization. Pursuit of the arts and sciences, Rousseau argued, merely promotes idleness, and the resulting political inequality encourages alienation. He continued to explore these themes throughout his career, proposing in émile, ou l'education (1762) a method of education that would minimize the damage by noticing, encouraging, and following the natural proclivities of the student instead of striving to eliminate them.

A Carnival Evening

The Liberty of Art

Poetry of Poverty

Against the Tide

War and Peace

Erring Portraits

Jungle Cabinet

An exemplum: To fete Baby!

Henri Rousseau: Biographical notes