Rousseau's earlier works had received a negative reception, but poet and critic Guillaume Apollinaire remarked on its debut: "The picture radiates beauty, that is indisputable.

The nude's left arm reaches towards the lions and a black snake charmer who faces the viewer playing his flute, barely visible in the gloom of the jungle under the dim light of the full moon.

Yadwigha dans un beau rêve S'étant endormie doucement Entendait les sons d'une musette Dont jouait un charmeur bien pensant.

Yadwigha in a beautiful dream Having fallen gently to sleep Heard the sounds of a reed instrument Played by a well-intentioned [snake] charmer.

One possible interpretation of the painting, offered by Rousseau in a letter to art critic André Dupont, is that it depicts a woman reclining on a couch in Paris, dreaming she is listening to a flute player in the jungle.