popsixsquishcicerolipschitz reblogged
A Eunuch’s Dream, Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ , 1874, Cleveland Museum of Art: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
This painting, inspired by Charles Montesquieu’s Persian Letters (published in 1721), depicts a eunuch who wanted to marry a harem slave. He experienced a vision of her while smoking his opium pipe, but her little companion holding a knife dripping with blood reminds us that the eunuch’s anatomy precludes the fulfillment of his dream. The outline of a hand next to the signature is a khamsa, a symbol used to ward off evil. Size: Framed: 54 x 74.5 x 5.5 cm (21 ¼ x 29 5/16 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 39.3 x 65.4 cm (15 ½ x 25 ¾ in.) Medium: oil on wood