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Le Sommeil (translated in English language variously as The Sleepers and Sleep) is an Erotic artDorothy 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 France artist Gustave Courbet created in 1866. The painting, which depicts a lesbianism couple, is also known as The Two Friends ( Les Deux Amies) and Indolence and Lust ( Paresse et Luxure).
The Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures describes Le Sommeil as a "famous" painting. The painting created an impact in 19th-century art, because after the public display of Le Sommeil, 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. (2025). 9782759603312, Paris musées. ISBN 9782759603312
Today Le Sommeil is in the collection of the Petit Palais, a Parisian museum.
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 red hair, the other is brunette. 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's poem "Delphine et Hippolyte", from his collection Les Fleurs du mal. Le Sommeil has been interpreted as a realist painting, detailing the bodies without glossing over their imperfections.
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