Die gestörte, aber glücklich wieder errungene Nachtruhe (Der Floh); 2 1862

Wilhelm Busch sketched "Die gestörte, aber glücklich wieder errungene Nachtruhe (Der Floh)" with graphite and watercolour. The drawing presents a sleeping figure whose rest is disturbed, yet ultimately regained. Busch uses a minimalist approach, with quick, light strokes to convey form and emotion. The composition is simple. Dark hatching suggests the depth of night behind the sleeper. Light washes of blue and red hint at bedding and the figure's face, respectively. These colors, sparsely applied, draw our eye to the points of interaction and discomfort: the face possibly bitten by a flea. Busch’s structural choices – the loose lines, the limited palette – contribute to the work's sense of immediacy and intimacy. The sketch destabilizes traditional ideas of formal portraiture, instead focusing on a fleeting, private moment. We are invited not just to observe the figure but to empathize with the universal experience of restless sleep. The drawing operates within a framework of observation of mundane experience, using form to access deep emotional and psychological truths.