How Artists Captured the Strange World of Sleep

"It occupies a third of our lives, while remaining shrouded in mystery-and intrigue. Sleep has attracted centuries' worth of scientific study, but the phenomenon has also captivated artists across the ages. John Everett Millais painted his daughter nodding off during a sermon; Eugène Delacroix detailed an unmade bed, still holding traces of a good night's rest; Jean Cocteau sketched a deep sleeper, 25 times over. Leonardo da Vinci, known for his strict napping schedule, once decided, "A well spent day brings happy sleep.""

"In Paris, the Musée Marmottan Monet is not snoozing on the rich history of sleep in art. Its new exhibition " The Empire of Sleep," curated by neurologist Laura Bossi and museum director Sylvie Carlier, gathers a host of artworks from the 19th and 20th centuries to explore how artists have captured the act of slumber. The 130 works on view variously depict its bliss, disorders, and secrets, leading up to our eventual, eternal rest."

The Musée Marmottan Monet gathers 130 nineteenth- and twentieth-century artworks to examine artistic portrayals of sleep, from peaceful slumber to disorder and death. Paintings and sketches capture everyday napping, unmade beds, repeated studies of deep sleepers, and the aphorisms of historical figures such as Leonardo da Vinci. Mythological and biblical motifs recur, including Adam dozing at Eve's creation, Noah intoxicated after the flood, and depictions of Nyx and Hypnos scattering poppies. Works by artists like John Everett Millais, Eugène Delacroix, Jean Cocteau, Gabriel von Max, and Evelyn De Morgan illustrate sleep’s symbolic, medical, and existential resonances.

Read at Artnet News