Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouÿ
1874
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
A Eunuch's Dream is a 1874 unspecified by Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouÿ, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A man in a turban lies on a couch, dreaming of a woman in a harem. Smoke curls from his pipe, and a small child holds a bloody knife behind the woman’s back. A hand-shaped charm glows near the artist’s name. The painting shows a moment from a 1700s French novel, where a eunuch longs for love he can never have. The knife hints at the danger of his fantasy. The hand charm, called a khamsa, was meant to protect against bad luck. Look up *chiaroscuro* to see how artists use light and shadow like this.
This painting, inspired by Charles Montesquieu's Persian Letters (published in 1721), depicts a eunuch who wanted to marry a harem slave. He experienced a vision of her while smoking his opium pipe, but her little companion holding a knife dripping with blood reminds us that the eunuch's anatomy precludes the fulfillment of his dream. The outline of a hand next to the signature is a khamsa, a symbol used to ward off evil.
Much of Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ's artwork was inspired by travelling to Egypt as a young man.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouÿ (10 June 1842 – 19 February 1923) was an Orientalist French painter and sculptor.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
