3-080-636 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Somnolency, 1838. Somnus', from which the word somnolency derives, was the Roman god of sleep. This painting, above all, conveys a sense of human vulnerability combined with mysticism. The figure wears a garland of poppies entwined through her hair: the sleep-inducing properties of this flower were well known to the ancients and symbolise slumber.