Sleeper Awakened by a Young Woman with Fire

A scene of comic ribaldry unfolds like a tableau vivant, with figures of great bodily and affective presence, painted from life and posed in the darkened space of the artist’s studio. A mischievous young prostitute prepares to play a prank on a soldier of fortune who, after a night of excess at a Roman tavern, has dozed off during a game of cards. The figures are momentarily caught in a bright shaft of light, the play of shadows heightening the sense of drama. A dumb show of gestures and glances, mirroring the exuberance of the comic actor’s repertoire, tells the story. The sleeper is about to learn a lesson – he will be burnt by the lit roll of tobacco wrapper held under his nose, an act fraught with eroticism. With a demonstrative gesture enjoining silence, the prankster invites the viewer’s complicity in mocking the folly of her unsuspecting victim. Contemporary viewers would have recognised the characters as stock figures of popular theatre and picaresque novels. Swaggering embodiments of excess, notorious for their foolishness, mercenaries were often portrayed in prodigal circumstances. Explicit action and characters exaggerated to the point of caricature were deemed appropriate for low-life subjects in a comic moralising mode. Delighted by feats of illusion such as the torn playing card, or the molten wax on the candlestick, our eye is seduced by Régnier’s artifice in bringing the scene seemingly to life. Description as new acquisition, November 2011: Sleeper Awakened by a Young Woman with a Lit Wick, by Nicolas Régnier Nicolas Régnier was a Flemish painter who lived 1591-1667. During his time as an artist, he was active mainly in Rome and Venice in Italy. Therefore his art has come to be regarded as Italian rather than Flemish. While in Italy, Régnier encountered the artistic tradition started by the great Caravaggio. Works from this tradition typically depict emotional manoeuvring, reinforced by powerful light effects and deep colours. This work, Sleeper Awakened by a Young Woman with a Lit Wick, was painted during Régnier’s Roman period. It is part of a suite of three works on the same theme. The painting is considered one of Régnier’s finest works, full of exquisite details such as the torn cards, the wax has flowed along the candlestick and shade from the young man's eyelashes. The young woman depicted in the painting invites the viewer to take part in the joke being played on the sleeping man Régnier’s painting was given to Nationalmuseum by the association Friends of Museum. The association celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011. To mark this, an appeal was launched to raise money for a significant centenary gift. The gift was handed over to Nationalmuseum at the celebration’s Grand Finale Night in late November 2011. The painting will complement and enrich the museum’s collection of Italian 17th century art.