Een onrustige droom 1876 - 1890

Albert Quantin created this print entitled "Een onrustige droom" sometime between 1850 and 1933, using a lithographic process. The title translates to "A Restless Dream", and the artwork presents a series of vignettes depicting a child's fantasy, perhaps fuelled by social expectations. We see a boy, presumably from a privileged background, dreaming of horses, jockeys, and what seems to be a military parade. These images subtly reinforce the period's social structures, suggesting an early introduction to themes of status and achievement. The dream culminates in a fall, a possible commentary on the precariousness of status, or the potential pitfalls of unchecked ambition. Ending where it began, with the child in bed with his toy horse, the image suggests a return to innocence, but also a potential for the cycle to repeat. It speaks to the way our dreams—and perhaps our societal structures—shape our identities from a young age.