Sleep
Artist: Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (French, 1824–1898)
Original Dimensions: 26 1/8" x 41 3/4"
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
About Artwork: (ca. 1867–70) "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." - (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

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