What kind of animal is examining the title character in Henri Rousseau's painting, 'The Sleeping Gypsy'?
The Sleeping Gypsy The Sleeping Gypsy The Sleeping Gypsy (French: "La Bohémienne endormie") is an 1897 oil painting by French Naïve artist Henri Rousseau (1844–1910). It is a fantastical depiction of a lion musing over a sleeping woman on a moonlit night. Rousseau first exhibited the painting at the 13th Salon des Indépendants, and tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the mayor of his hometown, Laval. Instead, it entered the private collection of a Parisian charcoal merchant where it remained until 1924, when it was discovered by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles. The Paris-based art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler purchased the painting in 1924,
Henri Rousseau the years. "Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!)" was exhibited in 1891, and Rousseau received his first serious review when the young artist Félix Vallotton wrote: "His tiger surprising its prey ought not to be missed; it's the alpha and omega of painting." Yet it was more than a decade before Rousseau returned to depicting his vision of jungles. In 1893, Rousseau moved to a studio in Montparnasse where he lived and worked until his death in 1910. In 1897, he produced one of his most famous paintings, "La Bohémienne endormie" ("The Sleeping Gypsy"). In 1905, Rousseau's large jungle scene