Slapende man op een bank 1768

Jean Baptist Leprince captured this sleeping man on a bench, using etching in 1769. Notice the simple wooden bench where the figure rests, a timeless symbol of respite. The nearby smoking lamp brings to mind similar depictions of light and shadow in Dutch Golden Age paintings, where lamps and candles often symbolize the presence of the divine, or the transience of life. Yet, here, the lamp flickers beside a man lost in slumber. Sleep, often seen as a temporary escape from the toils of life, has been depicted across cultures. From the dreamscapes of antiquity to modern psychoanalysis, sleep represents a journey into the subconscious, a realm of personal and collective memory. In this intimate scene, Leprince captures a moment of quiet vulnerability, inviting us to reflect on our own need for rest and escape, and the symbolic power of the spaces where we find it.