De nacht

A woman in 16th-century Dutch attire sleeps in a high-backed chair, while a couple rests in a curtained bed behind her. To the right, a cat sits before a hearth fire, and glass medical flasks rest on a shelf above. In the upper left corner, a framed view or window shows the winged figure of Night soaring over a darkened landscape, scattering the seeds of sleep.

This print reflects the Renaissance preoccupation with the cycles of time and their influence on the human body and soul. The presence of medical 'urinal' flasks and the domestic setting connects the celestial timing of the night to the physiological processes of rest and the humoral balance of the microcosm.