(translated in English variously as ''The Sleepers'' and ''Sleep'') is an

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

Dorothy M. Kosinski
Gustave Courbet's ''The Sleepers.'' The Lesbian Image in Nineteenth Century French Art and Literature
Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 9, No. 18 (1988), p.187 oil painting on canvas by French artist

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

created in 1866. The painting, which depicts a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

couple, is also known as ''The Two Friends'' (''Les Deux Amies'') and ''Indolence and Lust'' (''Paresse et Luxure'').

History

was originally commissioned by the Turkish diplomat and art collector of the late Ottoman era, Halil Şerif Paşa, who had lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

since 1860.Le Sommeil

Petit Palais The (; ) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the Exposition Universelle (1900), 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

The painting was not permitted to be shown publicly until 1988, like a number of Courbet's other works such as . When was exhibited by a picture dealer in 1872, it became the subject of a police report. One of the models for the painting was Joanna Hiffernan, who was the mistress of fellow painter James Abbott Whistler at the time. Whistler's relationship with Hiffernan ended soon afterwards, and his opinion of Courbet soured. The ''Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures'' describes as a "famous" painting. The painting created an impact in 19th-century art, because after the public display of , a number of contemporary artists were influenced by the theme of lesbian couples. Repetition of this theme helped to lower the taboos associated with lesbian relationships. In 1955, Bernard Buffet painted his version of ''Le Sommeil'' as a tribute to Courbet. Today is in the collection of the

, a Parisian museum.

Description

The painting shows two naked women lying asleep on a bed entwined in an erotic embrace. The setting is a bedroom with various textiles and ornamental furnishing. In the background there is a dark blue velvet curtain and in the right corner a table with a decorative flower vase. In the foreground is a small wooden table holding three items – a colored flacon (a small vessel), a transparent crystal vase, and a cup. Except for these few furnishings, there is nothing in the painting to overshadow the main image – the women. One of the sleeping women is redhead, the other is

brunette Brown hair, also referred to as brunette (when female), is the second-most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower level ...

. For color contrast, Courbet worked curves between the women. A broken pearl necklace and a hairpin scattered in the bed reference the nature of their previous activity.

Analysis

The painting was inspired by

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

's poem " Delphine et Hippolyte", from his collection ''

Les Fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; ) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First published in 1857, it was important in the ...

''. has been interpreted as a realist painting, detailing the bodies without glossing over their imperfections.

References

External links

Bernard Buffet's version of ''Le Sommeil''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sommeil 1866 paintings Paintings by Gustave Courbet Erotic art Lesbian erotica Nude paintings of women Paintings in the Petit Palais