Jacob's Dream 1480 - 1490

Hugo van der Goes created this ink drawing on paper, titled "Jacob's Dream," sometime between 1467 and 1482. Van der Goes, living in a time of significant religious and social change, infuses this biblical scene with a very personal and perhaps conflicted spirituality. The drawing depicts Jacob, asleep and dreaming of a ladder stretching to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. This image, central to Judeo-Christian tradition, becomes a stage for exploring faith and the self. The dream is not just a divine revelation, it is also a deeply introspective moment. The artist's identity as a lay brother later in life adds a layer of interpretation, suggesting his personal grappling with spiritual and earthly tensions. Van der Goes invites us to reflect on the intersection of the divine and the human, the dream and the reality. It’s a visual poem about finding oneself, and perhaps a little peace, in the midst of life’s complexities.