Why it matters
Two women lie asleep, entwined, in Courbet's erotic painting. After its public display, other artists took up the theme of female couples.
Did you know?
- It was painted in 1866.
- It was commissioned by the Ottoman diplomat Halil Şerif Paşa.
- One of the models was Joanna Hiffernan.
- It was not shown publicly until 1988.
Based on the Wikipedia article Le Sommeil (CC BY-SA 4.0).
