He was “the one and only Enlightenment thinker who ferociously attacked the very value of art (and science as well) … [His] fundamental idea [was] that art, instead of ennobling us, and offering paths to better and more meaningful lives, mostly makes for miserable modern creatures instead of free and happy ones.” Yet artist and academic Laurie Fendrich finds that “Rousseau’s brilliant railings … offer a road back to discovering the awe lurking in art.”