Romanticism, the dominant stylistic movement of the 19th century, had a proclivity for exotic themes. Although this might seem slightly strange today, these included somnambulism: the genetically determined disorder of walking around during the stage of deep sleep. The artistic imagination of the 30-year-old Vincenzo Bellini was also seized by the subject of 'sleepwalking' as he composed La sonnambula over the winter of 1830/31.
Follow us