1800
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Woman Sleeping in a Landscape with a Letter is a 1800 unspecified by Bernard Gaillot, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman lies sleeping in a landscape with a letter and a portrait miniature. The story behind this painting is still not fully understood. It seems to be inspired by an English novel popular in France around 1800. The monument in the background has an inscription about a woman who died, and the woman in the painting may be mourning or even dead. This painting's mysterious narrative is similar to works that use chiaroscuro, a technique that uses strong contrasts of light and dark to create a mood.
The subject matter here probably comes from an English novel popular in France around 1800. The monument’s inscription indicates that the wife of Fotheringham, an English military leader in India, has recently died. The reclining woman (perhaps sleeping, mourning, or dead) has dropped a portrait miniature of Fotheringham, accompanying a letter to his mother. The narrative has yet to be deciphered, but the husband may have written home, unaware of his wife’s death.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Bernard Gaillot, a French historical painter, born at Versailles in 1780, was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David.
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