The Sleeping Gypsy

The Sleeping Gypsy ( French La Bohémienne endormie ) is a painting by the French painter Henri Rousseau.

Description

The picture shows a woman sleeping in a desert landscape that is sniffed by a lion. The woman, a gypsy woman, is obviously resting from a long trek through inhospitable terrain. She holds her walking stick in his right hand. Next to her are a mandolin and a water pitcher. You must stay at this place for a long time, because their footprints in the sand are no longer visible.

The desert is empty and devoid of vegetation. But the moonlight highlights her colored striped dress.

Rousseau himself describes in a letter his painting as follows:

A wandering Negress, the mandolin play well, her pitcher (with water in it) close at hand, has fallen from exhaustion to sleep. Random is a lion of the path, sniffed her, but not swallowing it. The effect of the moon is very poetic. The scene takes place in a completely barren desert. The gypsy is dressed oriental.

Since Rousseau believed that he must explain his paintings, he wrote to the frame of the image as he gave it to the exhibition:

The cat, though wild, hesitates to pounce on the prey, exhausted with fatigue, fell asleep deeply.

History

Rousseau wrote a letter to the mayor of his native city of Laval, where he sold the picture for the relatively cheap price from 2000 to 1800 francs for purchase. But he was also willing to give it " to give cheaper," for he was desirous. " That his home town should have one of his new works ...

The picture was long lost and did not appear until 1927 on back. It is currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art.