Youth Sleeping before an Altar 

Jakob Binck created this circular engraving, "Youth Sleeping before an Altar," in the 16th century. At its heart lies a dichotomy: the somnolent youth at the altar's base, embodying earthly slumber, contrasted with the lively activity atop it, where figures tend to floral vases, symbols of spiritual vigilance. The motif of the sleeping figure is ancient. Consider the myth of Endymion, eternally slumbering, kissed by the moon goddess Selene. Here, the youth's slumber evokes a similar realm of mythic passivity. But note, too, how sleep is often a precursor to revelation—a state where the veil between the conscious and unconscious thins. This threshold is also a central concept in art: The sleeping figure—whether in classical sculpture or Renaissance painting—carries the weight of both vulnerability and latent potential. Perhaps, by juxtaposing sleep with the vigilance of tending the sacred altar, Binck suggests that true awakening comes through the embrace of both realms. The figures tending the vases may be preparing to wake the sleeping boy from his slumber.