Oil lamp belonging to Henri Rousseau

This burnished brass oil lamp, placed beside Henri Rousseau’s body, carries a significance far beyond its function. It is a liminal object, suspended between utility and symbol, between light and memory. In that final moment, it becomes a silent witness to a passage — not only from life to death, but from an imaginary world, filled with jungles and visions, to a real space made of shadows and silence. Its flickering glow accompanies the artist on his last journey, like a small domestic sentinel. The reservoir, still half full, and the ancient scent of burning oil evoke a continuity that defies time. In that room, the lamp is no longer just a source of light: it is a guardian of legacy, a symbol of a dissolving soul that once painted dreams, now leaving behind a discreet and persistent glow.