Sleep
This is a smaller replica of an 1867 painting (Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille) that Puvis regarded as his "favorite work." He associated the composition with a fragment from the Aeneid by the ancient Roman poet Virgil: "It was the hour when the first rest of weary mortals begins" (book 2, line 268). The text refers to a brief (and illusory) respite from war, but Puvis portrays untroubled repose after harvesting. By depicting sleepers of all ages, ranging from an old man to a mother cradling her baby, the artist creates an image of communal rest and protection.
Artwork Details
- Title: Sleep
- Artist: Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (French, Lyons 1824–1898 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1867–70
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 26 1/8 x 41 3/4 in. (66.4 x 106 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
- Object Number: 30.95.253
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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