La Bohémienne Endormie (The Sleeping Gypsy), 1897 by Henri Rousseau

La Bohémienne Endormie (The Sleeping Gypsy), by Henri Rousseau depicts a sleeping gypsy woman resting on a moonlit desert dune, her striped robe, mandolin, and water jar beside her as a lion stands over her, quietly sniffing at her still form. Rousseau, a self-taught French painter (1844–1910) working outside the academic tradition, became one of the most celebrated figures of Naive Art for his flattened forms, sharp color, and dreamlike stillness, and this 1897 composition remains one of the most iconic images in modern art.

Artist: Henri Rousseau (1844–1910). Date: 1897.

La Bohémienne Endormie (The Sleeping Gypsy). Naive Art Masterwork Canvas Print.