A Eunuch's Dream
A Eunuch's Dream, Jean Lecomte du Nou˙ (French, 1842 - 1923) 1874
1991.173
Gallery - SE 207.1
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.
Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Mrs. Noah L. Butkin 1991.173
Images Copyright © the artist, their estate, and/or the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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