The Sonnambula

Title: The Sonnambula
Rights: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery. Public domain.
Creator: Randolph Rogers (1825-1892)
Date: c. 1863-1864
Description: Marble sculpture depicting a character named Amina.

Crafted in 1855, the sculpture likely refers to the Amina character from Bellini's "La Sonnambula," which premiered in Milan about two decades prior to Rogers's creation. In the opera, Amina's sleepwalking is misperceived as a betrayal by her love Elvino when she sleepwalks into another man's room. The sculpture thus represents her in her sleeping state.
Format: Marble sculpture. 47 1/8 x 15 7/8 x 20 1/8 in.
Publisher: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery.
Contributor: Lindsey Cillis
Identifier: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery. 1962.11.2.
Subject: Opera; sculpture; Amina; La Sonnambula; The Sonnambula.
Source: JPEG file. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery. Unknown photographer. 10/22/2023. https://www.si.edu/object/somnambula:saam_1962.11.2.