# Morpheus and Iris [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GUÉRIN, Pierre-Narcisse]() - Date: 1801-1850 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 251 x 178 cm ## Commentary Morpheus and Iris 1811 Oil on canvas, 251 x 178 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg Morpheus, the god of dreams, is the son of Hypnos, the Greek personification of Sleep. The Kingdom of Sleep was once visited by Iris, the messenger of Juno, with order to send Morpheus on errand. She is shown descending on bright wings from a rainbow and rousing the sleepy god. Guérin is best known in art history as the teacher of Géricault and Delacroix. His works are dominated by the mood of quiet contentment typical of the official art of the Napoleonic empire. Paintings such as this adorned the imperial residences, and the subject is ideally suited to luxurious private apartments. ## Related artworks - [Aurora and Cephalus]() - [Clytemnestra and Agamemnon]() - [Dido and Aeneas]() - [Henri de la Rochejaquelin]() - [Napoleon Pardoning the Rebels at Cairo]() - [Sappho on the Leucadian Cliff]() - [The Return of Marcus Sextus]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()