In March 1919, while out walking in Fontainebleau Forest, Oskar Serti recognized the tree that had served as a model for the painter Pierre Lipart for his famous painting entitled: “The siesta”. The idea of actually being part of a picture inspired Serti to lie down at the foot of the tree in the same posture as the character in the painting.
But after a few minutes, he felt an invading column of ants over him. It was then that he understood that what he had always taken for a crack at the bottom of the canvas was in fact insects crawling over the character's legs. Rather than take any chances checking the cause of the other crack marks on the character, Serti jumped up in a hurry and went on his way.