The Sleeping Gypsy: 1897
Henri Rousseau(1844 – 1910), which is known as “Le Douanier Rousseau” after his career as a toll collector in the city of Paris, was born in Laval Mayenne, France, in 1844. He is a self-taught genius who starts painting at the age of 40. With two years in 1886, he becomes a regular exhibitor at the Salon des Independants in Paris. At the age of 49, he retires early from his post and becomes a full-time painter. Even though he aims to be a famous academic painter, Rousseau is perceived as the quintessential “naive” artist. He develops his own unique style of modern art, which is a surrealistic blend of primitivism and pure fantasy.
The work I choose is The Sleeping Gypsy created in 1897. It is painted with oil on canvas. The picture depicts a black woman lying on the desert and sleeping. In front of her is a jar and a mandolin. The woman is wearing color traditional costume. It seems like the woman is in deep sleep and has contented expression on her face, maybe she has a sweet dream. However, she is holding a branch in her arms, seems like she is ready to protect herself from being attacked all the time. Behind the woman, there is a lion walking by and musing on her, but it is obvious that the lion is not going to attack her. It is night time with sparse stars and a bright moon on the clear sky.
There are several aspects that The Sleeping Gypsy reflects modernism. One of the symbol is the description of the lion. Lion use to impress people as a cruel predator, which represents danger. Whereas in this picture, the lion seems peace and kind. It is different from the traditional thoughts to lions. Besides, the detail that the woman is holding a branch to fall in sleep implies that she realizes there is danger around her in the desert and finding the way to protect herself. Nonetheless, she falls into deep sleep and has a good dream. Rousseau may want to express that even though the present situation is bad and full of danger, we still should hope for the future, or have some good dreams about the future. Sometimes you see something through its surface thinking as danger as a lion. As a matter of fact, it might not. It might not as danger as how you think. This picture tells us that the fact is not always goes by how you think it use to be. We should get rid of the traditional thoughts and review the society with some new thoughts.
When I was looking around in the MOMA, The Sleeping Gypsy made me stop my step. When I first looked at the picture, I was attracted by the feeling the picture gives me. The picture send out a kind of quiet and peaceful. The bright moon plays a key role in this work. It is so clear and bright, gives me a feeling of hope and nice. The woman is sleeping with smile on her face. It seems that the lion is a guardian angel of the woman in the darkness.
The question I am still holding is what is the mandolin means in this picture?
Qiao Yan, I have always loved this painting. I think it is so mysterious and so beautiful. One important thing to keep in mind here is that the Modernists have rejected the idea that everything has to “mean ” something or that everything can be understood; instead they tend to embrace things that are strange and inexplicable (resistant to understanding or interpretation.) I think this strange painting is an example of that. We know that what we are looking at is not a real scene, but rather the product of the artistic imagination. Nice work!
JS