Henri Rousseau Sleeping Gypsy MoMA New York 1987 Art Poster

Artist: Henri Rousseau
Artwork Title: The Sleeping Gypsy (Die schlafende Zigeunerin, 1897)
Exhibition: Meisterwerke der Frühen Moderne (MoMA New York Loan)
Venue: Oberes Belvedere (Austrian Gallery), Vienna, Austria
Year of Publication: 1987
Graphic Design: Harry Metzler
Printer: Druckerei Dellerfuhs
Material: Archival exhibition poster paper
Technique: High-quality vintage offset lithography
Dimensions: 84 x 58.4 cm / 33.1 x 23.0 in
 
An original vintage exhibition poster published in 1987 to mark the landmark exhibition "Meisterwerke der Frühen Moderne" (Masterpieces of the Early Modern Age). Held from April 11 to May 31, 1987, at the prestigious Oberes Belvedere (Upper Belvedere Palace) in Vienna, Austria, this historic exhibition showcased masterworks on loan from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.
The poster prominently features Henri Rousseau's celebrated 1897 Post-Impressionist masterpiece, The Sleeping Gypsy (Die schlafende Zigeunerin). The visual presents the iconic imagery of a lion under a full moon, standing over a sleeping nomadic musician in a desert landscape. Designed by Harry Metzler and printed by Druckerei Dellerfuhs, this highly collectible lithographic exhibition poster captures a significant cross-continental cultural exchange between MoMA and the Austrian Gallery. It serves as a striking and sophisticated addition to any mid-century modern, minimalist, or eclectic interior design.
 
About the Artist
Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), often known as Le Douanier (the customs officer), was a self-taught French Post-Impressionist painter who became one of the most celebrated figures of Naïve art. Despite facing ridicule from critics during most of his life, his vivid imagination, flat perspective, and dreamlike compositions won the deep admiration of avant-garde masters such as Pablo Picasso, Robert Delaunay, and Guillaume Apollinaire. Today, Rousseau's highly stylized jungles, exotic landscapes, and allegorical scenes are heralded as foundational precursors to Surrealism