Die Gartenlaube (the Garden Arbor) 1889

Toby Edward Rosenthal created this engraving of an image of a young man waking up, yawning, and stretching. Consider the yawn, a universal gesture, a primal reflex we share across cultures and throughout time. Like the archetypal images Jung wrote about, it crosses time and space. In medieval art, a yawn might signify spiritual emptiness, while in contemporary society, it simply conveys sleepiness or boredom. The book in the young man's lap further complicates the image. Is he a scholar, roused from his studies? Or is the book merely a prop, a symbol of intellect placed carelessly aside? The untidy room is a potent symbol too. In the image, we see the recurring motif of the human experience, reminding us of life's cyclical nature and the ways gestures and symbols can transcend specific moments.