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What is depicted in Henri Rousseauâs painting The Dream?
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Henri Rousseau
Myself: Portrait-Landscape, oil on canvas by Henri Rousseau, 1890; in the National Gallery, Prague. 146 Ă 113 cm.
In his 1910 painting The Dream (also known as Yadivighaâs Dream), Henri Rousseau depicts a surreal fantasy scene set within a dense jungle. The composition features a nude woman resting on a red plush Victorian sofa placed amidst the lush, exotic vegetation.1
Surrounding the woman are various elements of the jungle, including large, waving flowers, an elephant, and two lions peering out from the undergrowth. Additionally, a musician is shown playing a flute behind her. According to Rousseau, the painting represents the woman having fallen asleep on the sofa and dreaming that she has been transported to this improbable, magical environment.1