Repos de la nuit 1899

Alphonse Mucha created this lithograph, Repos de la Nuit, capturing a scene of nocturnal repose. Here, the figure embodies sleep, with poppies above, symbolizing slumber, oblivion, and dreams. Consider the gesture of the figure, her head resting upon her arms. This posture echoes in depictions of mourning and contemplation throughout art history, from ancient sarcophagi to Renaissance paintings. It speaks to a universal human experience of seeking solace or sinking into introspection. The poppy, seen here, recalls its use in ancient Greece and Rome as an offering to Morpheus, god of dreams. Over time, its symbolism has shifted, yet it still retains the essence of a passage into a different state of consciousness. Mucha’s work taps into the enduring human fascination with the night, and invites viewers to dream.