''The Sleeping Gypsy'' (French: ''La Bohémienne endormie'') is an 1897
oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
by French
Naïve
Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...
artist
Henri Rousseau (1844–1910). It is a fantastical depiction of a lion musing over a sleeping woman on a moonlit night.
Rousseau first exhibited the painting at the 13th
Salon des Indépendants
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
, and tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the mayor of his hometown,
Laval
Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of:
People
* House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne
* Laval (surname)
Places Belgium
* Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...
. Instead, it entered the private collection of a Parisian charcoal merchant where it remained until 1924, when it was discovered by the art critic
Louis Vauxcelles. The Paris-based art dealer
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler purchased the painting in 1924, although a controversy arose over whether the painting was a forgery. It was acquired by art historian
Alfred H. Barr Jr.
Alfred Hamilton Barr Jr. (January 28, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. From that position, he was one of the most influential forces in the development of ...
for the New York
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
.
Description
Rousseau described his painting as follows: "A wandering Negress, a mandolin player, lies with her jar beside her (a vase with drinking water), overcome by fatigue in a deep sleep. A lion chances to pass by, picks up her scent yet does not devour her. There is a moonlight effect, very poetic."
Popular culture references
* A print of the work appears in the movie ''
The Apartment'' (1960) above the comatose Fran Kubelik.
* The painting has served as inspiration for poetry and music, and has been altered and parodied by various artists often with the lion replaced by a dog or other animal. In the
''Simpsons'' episode "
Mom and Pop Art" (1999), Homer dreams of waking up in the artwork with the lion licking his head.
* The painting is seen in the house of Dr. Robert Neville in ''
I Am Legend'' (2007), after being taken from the MoMA when New York City was abandoned. The painting is ultimately destroyed when his house blows up.
* This painting appears in the episode of Madeline "Madeline At The Louvre" where Madeline sees herself as the gypsy who sleeps in the painting.
* The painting is referenced in Angela Carter's ''
The Passion of New Eve'' to describe the fatigued stillness of the eponymous protagonist (London: Virago, 1982), p.161.
* The painting is referenced in William Saroyan's "Tracy's Tiger." (1951)
* The painting is also shown in the Between the Lions episode Art Party where the cubs talk about the sleeping gypsy in the beginning, middle, and end. (2003)
References
External links
*
''The Sleeping Gypsy''MoMA Provenance Research
Sleeping Gypsy-an artists Interpretation''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleeping Gypsy, The
Modern paintings
1897 paintings
Paintings by Henri Rousseau
Paintings in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (New York City)
Lions in art
Musical instruments in art
Moon in art