A groundbreaking exhibition exploring the artistic representation of sleep and slumber has opened at the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, marking the first time such a comprehensive collection has been assembled in France. "The Empire of Sleep" presents an extraordinary inventory of abandonment postures, featuring works from renowned artists including Rembrandt, Vallotton, and Munch, and will remain open to the public until October 1st.
The exhibition addresses a curious gap in French cultural programming, as noted by historians Hervé Mazurel, a lecturer at the University of Burgundy, and Frédérique Aït-Touati, a research director at CNRS. Despite the fact that humans spend a significant portion of their lives in the arms of Morpheus, night after night and nap after nap, no previous exhibition in France had focused specifically on sleep and its aesthetic representations.
The curators discovered that artworks depicting sleeping figures or twilight states are far more numerous than initially imagined. The challenge was not in finding suitable pieces, but rather in conceiving the idea to gather and compare these diverse representations of slumber. This realization forms the core originality of the Parisian exhibition, which opened its doors on October 9th and will continue through March 1st.
A centerpiece of the collection is Carolus-Duran's "The Sleeping Man" from 1861, which exemplifies the exhibition's exploration of vulnerability and tranquility in human repose. The artwork, along with others in the collection, demonstrates how artists throughout history have been fascinated by the defenseless state of sleep and the peaceful abandonment it represents.
The exhibition coincides with the "Rendez-vous de l'histoire" (History Meetings) taking place in Blois from October 8-12, 2025, where Liberation journalists have invited thirty historians to provide alternative perspectives on current events. This special collaboration highlights the intersection between art history and contemporary cultural discourse, emphasizing how representations of sleep have evolved and maintained relevance across different historical periods.
Visitors to the Musée Marmottan Monet can explore how different artistic movements and individual artists have interpreted the universal human experience of sleep. The exhibition presents a unique opportunity to examine the aesthetic and cultural significance of rest, dreams, and the transitional states between consciousness and slumber, offering insights into both artistic technique and human psychology through the lens of sleep representation.
