© Art Museums of Skagen
Did you know that we spend almost a third of our lives asleep ? When sleeping becomes an art form, the Musée Marmottan Monet takes it to the next level ! Until March 1, the exhibition L’empire du sommeil celebrates the act of resting through 125 works by some of the world’s most renowned artists. A symbol of happiness, death, or eroticism, a gateway to dreams or nightmares, this immersive journey promises an intimate look into the quietest side of humankind : the sleeper.
The Art World Awakens to Sleep
© Trustees of the De Morgan Foundation - Gabinetto Fotografico delle Gallerie degli Uffizi
Despite being a central part of our existence, sleep has long been overlooked by French museums. For the first time, this exhibition gives it a spotlight all its own. Sometimes cherished by night owls who’ve partied too hard, sometimes feared by insomniacs, this semi-conscious state opens up endless possibilities for art, scientific studies, and metaphorical interpretations.
We all remember those philosophy classes on Freud and the unconscious, a source of endless inspiration for high school essays. While researchers have long been fascinated by the topic, great painters have filled their canvases with dark hues and abstract shapes exploring it. After all, the sleeping human is the perfect model: silent and still. It’s about time we dove into the mysteries of the bedroom, the setting of both intrigue and fear.
A Sleep Told in Eight Chapters
Through a collection of paintings, sculptures, and drawings created between 1800 and 1920, L’empire du sommeil invites visitors to explore how the depiction of slumber has evolved over time. From the moment you step into La Rotonde, the journey unfolds across eight chapters, beginning with a serene vision of sleep, seen as pure happiness and a moment of escape from life’s worries.
Michael Ancher’s La Sieste, showing a young woman in blue dozing peacefully on a bench, perfectly captures this revitalizing pause where time stands still. A detour through biblical origins with Giuseppe Antonio Petrini’s Le Sommeil de Saint Pierre then leads visitors into deeper layers of meaning, where sleep becomes synonymous with dreams, desire, death, and even anxiety.
And it’s impossible to miss the sculpture La Pisana by Arturo Martini, a nude woman caught mid-dream in the middle of the gallery, blending sensuality and serenity. We couldn’t resist circling around her again and again…
How else could such an exhibition end but in the very place where sleep takes shape? Bathed in yellow hues, the final room recreates the bedroom, a sanctuary for nap lovers. We loved learning about the evolution of this intimate space, from a private, veiled room to a place of complete surrender and sensuality.
The surprise highlight ? Charles Matton’s La chambre d’un collectionneur romantique, a miniature reconstruction of a disheveled bedroom. You’ll find yourself captivated by every tiny detail, from the slippers abandoned at the foot of the bed to the chair covered in clothes, that all-too-familiar sight we’re all guilty of…
L’empire du Sommeil - Musée Marmottan Monet, 2 rue Louis-Boilly, Paris 16e.
From October 9 to March 1. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Late opening on Thursdays until 9 p.m. (last entry 1 hour before closing). Full price: €14 / Reduced: €9 / Free for children under 7.
Also discover : The Best Free Exhibitions at Parisian Galleries and Jean-Baptiste Greuze: a virtuoso of raw emotions
