Randolph RogersAmerican, 1825–1892The Somnambula
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Washington, D.C., United States
RoomLuce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 20A
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
In 1855-56, Randolph Rogers first conceived of The Somnambula as a partner piece to his popular statue Nydia. The Somnambula, or "the sleepwalker," relates to Somnus, the Roman god of sleep, but Rogers probably based this figure on Vincenzo Bellini's popular nineteenth-century opera La Sonnambula. The heroine of the opera, Amina, sleepwalks into the room of another man, whom she mistakes for her fiancé Elvino. In a jealous rage, Elvino accuses her of having a lover, who, to no avail, pleads with him that they are not in love, but that she is a "sleepwalker." Elvino realizes his mistake when Amina, lamp in her hand, sleepwalks across a bridge and almost falls, but is awakened and rescued.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1962.11.2
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
