Willem van Nieuwen ontwaakt in het bed van Filips de Goede 1842

Herman Frederik Carel ten Kate created this print, now at the Rijksmuseum, illustrating Willem van Nieuwen awakening in the bed of Filips de Goede. Here, we see the motif of the awakening, a symbolic rebirth, set against a tableau of courtly intrigue. Such scenes echo through art history, recalling, for instance, the numerous depictions of Lazarus being raised from the dead. The bed itself, more than mere furniture, symbolizes the liminal space between consciousness and unconsciousness. It is a stage where personal dramas and collective memories play out, not unlike the beds found in Renaissance paintings, which are often settings for both intimate moments and pivotal historical events. Consider how this theme resonates in later works, perhaps in the surrealist paintings of dreams and altered states, revealing a continuous thread of human fascination with the boundaries of reality. The collective psyche, it seems, is forever drawn to these transitional states, finding in them reflections of our own fleeting existence. This cyclical progression highlights how symbols resurface and evolve, continually taking on new layers of meaning across the ages.