Description
Salvador Dali – Sleep
| Year of Creation: | c. 1937 |
| Original size: | 78 cm x 51 cm |
| Paint style: | Surrealism |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Located: | Private Collection |
Sleep – Salvador Dalí
Sleep is a painting by Salvador Dalí: a huge, soft sleeping head with no body, held up in the air over an empty plain by thin wooden crutches. We paint our hand-painted study of Sleep to order on canvas, in oil or acrylic, in 8 sizes from 40 × 30 cm to 150 × 100 cm or in a custom size. Before Sleep is dispatched, we send you a photo of the finished painting.
What does Sleep show?
In Sleep an enormous head with closed eyes hangs over the landscape like a heavy, limp sack, and only a row of thin wooden crutches keeps its nose, lips, cheek and eyelid from sinking to the ground; below lies an empty plain under a pale sky, with a small town on the right and a dog, also propped up by a crutch, on the left. Dalí said that if a single crutch gave way the sleeper would wake, so Sleep is a picture of how fragile sleep and dreams are.
How is our hand-painted study of Sleep made?
Our painters paint the study of Sleep by hand, with brushstrokes of different thickness, separately for every order. We paint in oil or acrylic, depending on the subject and the size, so the surface of Sleep has a real paint texture that a print does not have. When Sleep is finished, we photograph it and send you the photo for approval.
Which size of Sleep suits your room?
For the wall above a sofa or a sideboard choose Sleep in 120 × 80 cm, and for a bedroom, hallway or work corner 40 × 30 cm. Sleep is available in 40 × 30 cm, 50 × 30 cm, 60 × 40 cm, 70 × 50 cm, 78 × 51 cm, 90 × 60 cm, 120 × 80 cm and 150 × 100 cm. The 78 × 51 cm size of Sleep is the size of the original. A simple rule for Sleep: it should be about two thirds as wide as the furniture below it, with its centre about 150 cm from the floor.
How does Sleep arrive, and when?
We ship Sleep rolled in a sturdy tube, stretched on 2.5 cm deep wooden stretcher bars, or framed – you choose when you order. Stretching and framing of Sleep are done in our workshop in Slovenia. When a size of Sleep is in stock, it reaches you within 6 working days; a study of Sleep painted to order reaches you in 15 to 45 days.
Frequently asked questions about Sleep
Is Sleep a print?
No. Every brushstroke of Sleep is painted by hand on canvas, so the paint visibly stands up from the surface.
Can I order Sleep in a size that is not listed?
Yes. We also paint Sleep in a custom size; enter the width and height you want when you order Sleep.
Why are there crutches in Sleep?
The crutches in Sleep hold up the heavy sleeping head; Dalí explained that if even one of them broke the sleeper would wake, so they show how little it takes to break a dream.
Is Sleep a good gift?
Sleep is a gift for a lover of Dalí, dreams or calm, muted colours. If you are unsure which size of Sleep to choose, give a gift voucher.
