Boy sleeping on a grave

Caspar David Friedrich painted a young boy asleep beside a grave in this melancholy scene. The peaceful child lies unaware atop the resting place of the dead, a poignant contrast. Friedrich found spiritual meaning in scenes of mortality and nature.

The German Romantic painter often depicted solitary figures in contemplative settings. Death and renewal, sleep and waking intertwine here. The work hangs at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.