"Le Sommeil (Slumber or Sleep)", 1860 Gustave Courbet (1819 - 1877) Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

This work was created for Khalil Bey along with another named "L'Origine du monde" depicting mature female pudenda and breast (see warning below). The facial flush characteristic of an orgasm leaves little to the imagination of the sexuality of this scene ... nor the allegorical implication of the broken string of pearls ...

Khalil Bey (1831 - 1879) became known as "the first child of Islam to collect modern contemporary works of art". Born in Egypt, he became an Ottoman diplomat and art collector - he met Gustave Courbet and commissioned both of the works shown here. His collection included works by Ingres, Delacroix, Corot, Rousseau, etc. (Several also are quite erotic - during the "Victorian" age, fine art provided an avenue to show erotic subjects). He sold his collection shortly before the start of the Franco-Prussian War and his departure from Paris.

Warning - the companion work may be offensive to some - it depicts the anatomical reality of mature female external genitalia.

Ed. W. W. (personal comment) arguably, the companion painting may serve as an index - a sign of the deterioration of personal freedoms of the U.S. public - under the current dominance of politicized polarized views - one spectrum being the "conservative" "pro-life" Evangelical - Republican Party - Corporate complex. In such climate, the U.S. public freedom became reduced. For example, these paintings are exhibited by French State institutions for more than a century - but in the U.S., it is unlikely that a public Art Museum has the "freedom" (from reprisals) to exhibit these works - media promotion of a scandal is profitable both in terms of corporate earnings and political campaigns - restriction of public freedoms from viewing works of art has broader implications - reduction of education curricula regarding human sexuality and therefore Pre-Conception Health implies ignorance of realities that are reflected in high rates of prematurity, teenage pregnancies, induced abortions ("interruptions" of pregnancies), and preventable birth defects - advocates of "pro-life" politics should demonstrate their humane concerns for the "right for life" of "babies-to-be", including to be free from preventable anomalies - such can not be achieved by ignorance.

Please see further comments in core image.