The Interrupted Sleep
François Boucher·1750
Historical Context
The Interrupted Sleep at the Metropolitan Museum (1750) depicts a young woman drowsing in a garden, discovered or about to be surprised by an unseen visitor — a subject that plays with the voyeuristic dimension of Rococo aesthetics, the sleeping or drowsing woman as an object available for the gaze precisely because her consciousness is temporarily suspended. Boucher painted such subjects throughout his career, finding in the sleeping or reclining female figure the ideal vehicle for his particular brand of sensuous, unapologetic decorative painting. The 1750 date places this at the height of Boucher's influence: Madame de Pompadour had been Louis XV's official mistress since 1745, her patronage transforming Boucher into the defining visual voice of French court culture. The Metropolitan's collection of Boucher works provides an unparalleled opportunity to trace his development across the full range of his subjects and scales, from intimate cabinet pictures like this through large decorative programs.
Technical Analysis
The sleeping figure is rendered with Boucher's characteristic pearly flesh tones and idealized proportions. The surrounding pastoral landscape serves as a decorative frame, with soft greens and blues complementing the warm pink tones of the figure.
Look Closer
- ◆The sleeping woman's dress has arranged itself to reveal more than sleep normally allows — the interruption the title promises is already implied.
- ◆Her face has the perfectly composed stillness that only Rococo painting grants to sleepers — an idealized unconsciousness that reads as invitation.
- ◆The garden's soft foliage frames her without enclosing her — she is accessible rather than private, found rather than hidden.
- ◆A small dog nearby glances alertly outward, already awake to the approach that is about to disturb its mistress.
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