Allegory of Night, 1891

The Allegory of Night is inspired by Greek mythology, in which Night is personified by a veiled woman. She is the mother of twins, Sleep and Death, here presented as two naked children. Léon Frédéric was here possibly making an allusion to another tradition of Western European art. Sleeping children are personifications of Morning and Evening, who have not yet awoken from an intense connection with their mother, Night. Here Frédéric was able to link his interest in the depiction of dream images to the art of the Italian Quattrocento, which he so much admired. Both the precision of the execution and the refinement with which he painted transparent fabrics remind one of the paintings of Botticelli, whose work he became familiar with during his study trips to Italy.