“Stop to see this surreal painting featuring a multi-eyed, moon-like face emerging from a plant. Painted in the same year the artist lost an eye, it's a powerful exploration of sight and transformation.”
A moon-like face with multiple eyes and twin tongues emerges from a plant-like form in this unsettling painting. The imagery here plays on duality and the power of sight, forming an uncanny hybrid of human and botanical elements. This work, made in 1938, takes on a deeply personal resonance for the painter, who lost his left eye in a violent brawl that same year. His injury prompted him to create many paintings exploring ocular themes and self-portraits. The artist himself wrote, "I have closed my left eye forever. It was probably by chance that I was given the opportunity to see the center of the world." This painting captures a moment of profound transformation and a new way of seeing, both literally and metaphorically.
- Artist
- Léon-Victor Dupré
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Dimensions
- 45.7 × 54.3 cm (18 × 21 7/16 in.)
- Collection
- Modern Art
- Culture
- Romania
- Credit line
- Gift of Albert A. Robin
What to Notice
Four details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.
The two pairs of eyes on the central face.
The twin tongues extending from the mouth.
The plant-like elements forming the face and body.
The moon-like quality of the central figure.
Stand in front of it and listen
The full narration walks you through Gemini — the story behind it, the details most visitors miss, and why it matters. Free in the Art Whisper app.
Léon-Victor Dupré
1816–1879 · FranceLéon-Victor Dupré, a French landscape painter, followed in his brother Jules's footsteps, capturing the quiet beauty of the French countryside.
Further Works by Dupré
The Estuary Farm
1831 · Art Institute of Chicago
The Cottage by the Roadside, Stormy Sky
1855 · Art Institute of Chicago
Barks Fleeing Before the Storm
1870 · Art Institute of Chicago
Two Boats in a Storm
1870 · Art Institute of Chicago
Chariot Race
1876 · Art Institute of Chicago
Madame Léon Clapisson
1883 · Art Institute of Chicago
On the Road
1856 · Art Institute of Chicago
Alphabet de la Tête
Art Institute of Chicago
