The Dream by Henri Rousseau (Interpretation and Analysis)

The Dream
Source: Google Cultural Institute

To me, this painting is a poem in visual form.

What I mean by that is that The Dream is an object of great beauty, but it doesn’t make much sense from a narrative perspective. If you ask me, the painting exists for the sake of beauty alone. It doesn’t necessarily have a message; instead, the painting is exactly what its title suggests: an extravagant, otherworldly dream.

Henri Rousseau, the painter, is an interesting figure in the history of French painting. He was a naïve artist, meaning that he didn’t have formal artistic training.

Perhaps as a consequence of this, his work has a very specific look, characterized by a lack of shading or definition, the use of bright colors, and an absence of three dimensional space. To twenty first century viewers, his work probably feels very modern. There is an element of directness and candor to his work that feels fresh and original. The Dream is one of his famous jungle paintings, based off of his visits to the botanical gardens of Paris.

The Dream depicts a naked woman (who has been identified as Rousseau’s mistress, Yadwigha), reclining on a sofa among a backdrop of exotic trees and animals, including lions and a bright pink snake. Another woman, dressed in a brightly colored skirt plays a flute; Rousseau identified her as a snake-charmer in contemporary descriptions.

The painting has been interpreted as a representation of Yadwigha’s dreams, a form of escapism from her workaday life in France. It could alternately be understood as a modern reimagining of Eden, a subject very common throughout the history of Western art. Under this interpretation, the painting becomes a symbol of a perfect, though unattainable world.

To my mind, the true significance of the piece is somewhere in between. The painting is abstract in meaning, if not in composition. As I’ve said before, I believe it exists for the sake of beauty, but in some indefinable way, it also manages to appeal to the desire of ordinary people to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In its abstraction and otherworldliness, The Dream transports the viewer to another plane of being, far from the grimy streets of twentieth century Europe.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.