# The Knight's Dream [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [PEREDA, Antonio de]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on wood, 152 x 217 cm ## Commentary The Knight's Dream c. 1650 Oil on wood, 152 x 217 cm Museo de la Real Academia de San Fernando, Madrid The repertoire of objects in a vanitas still-life is confined to external power symbols: crowns - including the papal tiara and mitres, as well as kingly crowns - and a knight's armour were always part of such still-lifes, as was the globe as a symbol of worldwide expansion and a craving for conquests. These 'elements of vanity' are of central importance in this painting by Pereda. A young nobleman has fallen asleep in an armchair on the left, his head, pale with sleep, supported by one hand. The content of his dream - the world and its vanity - is displayed on the table on the right, against a pitch-black background. Other objects of vanity, apart from the power insignia mentioned above, are books, music, coins, jewellery, weapons and a mask \(as a symbol of Thalia - the theatre\). These are all considered futile. Transience is symbolized by two skulls - one of them rolled over so that we can see inside - as well as by a burnt candle and a clock. The flowers in the vase, too, are symbols of vanity. A winged angelic creature has come flying to the scene, opening up a banner which reads 'Aeterne pungit, cito volat et occidit. ## Related artworks - [Allegory]() - [St Anthony of Padua with Christ Child \(detail\)]() - [St Anthony of Padua with Christ Child]() - [St Dominic]() - [St Jerome]() - [Stiil-life with a Pendulum]() - [Still-Life with an Ebony Chest]() - [Still-Life with Fruit]() - [The Holy Trinity]() - [The Knight's Dream \(detail\)]() - [The Liberation of St Peter by an Angel]() - [The Relief of Genoa]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()