Speakasso › Paintings › The Sleeping Gypsy
The Sleeping Gypsy
Henri Rousseau, 1897
Henri Rousseau, a former customs clerk who took up painting untaught in his forties, became the darling of the avant-garde. Everything here is dreamlike: in a desert under a full moon a woman in a striped dress sleeps beside her mandolin and water jar, while a lion stands over her, sniffing but not harming her. The artist's own caption ran: a wandering mandolin player has fallen asleep exhausted; a lion happens by, scents her, and does not devour her. The Surrealists later claimed Rousseau as their forerunner.
What is in the painting
- Striped dress. The woman sleeps in a dress of bright multicoloured stripes, a staff beside her.
- Beast with a mane. A huge maned animal stands over the sleeper, staring at the viewer with one round eye.
- Desert and water. Behind them, smooth dunes, a ribbon of river and mountains under a night sky.
Did you know? Rousseau offered the painting to the mayor of his native Laval for 1,800 to 2,000 francs, promising it would bring the town fame; the mayor declined.
About the painting
- Artist
- Henri Rousseau (1844–1910)
- Year
- 1897
- Style
- Naïve art, Primitivism
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 129.5 × 200.7 cm
- Where to see it
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
How to describe it in Speakasso
In Speakasso you describe the painting in your own words and an AI draws it again. These words are forbidden in this round — each one costs 15 points:
A description that scores high
A woman in a bright multicolored striped robe lies on her back on pale desert sand, eyes closed, holding a staff. Beside her rest a stringed instrument with a round body and a clay water jar. A huge maned beast with a tufted tail stands over her, sniffing, staring at us with one round eye. Behind, a silvery river, hills and a deep night sky with a full white disc. Flat, naive, dreamlike painting.
The tricky part: Call the animal a huge maned beast with a tufted tail, and the instrument a round-bodied stringed one lying beside her.
The method behind it: what is painted first, then where things are, then colour and light, then the style. Read the full guide
More by Henri Rousseau in the game
