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| Abraham Walkowitz Figures in Landscape 1932 watercolor on paper Whitney Museum of American Art, New York |
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| George Luks Morning Light ca. 1928 oil on canvas Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC |
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| Charles Haslewood Shannon Seated Model ca. 1917 drawing British Museum |
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| Charles Haslewood Shannon Linen Bleachers 1894 lithograph British Museum |
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| William Strang Figure Study ca. 1880 drawing British Museum |
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| Léon-Augustin Lhermitte Half-Length Study of Model 1864 drawing British Museum |
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| William Mulready Recumbent Model before 1864 drawing British Museum |
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| Robert Ker Porter Model posed at the Royal Academy ca. 1794-95 drawing British Museum |
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| Cornelis Saftleven Seated Model 1658 drawing British Museum |
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| Giovanni Battista Spinelli Group of Figures before 1647 drawing British Museum |
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| Alessandro Tiarini Model with Upraised Arms (study for angel in cupola fresco) ca. 1627 drawing British Museum |
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| Monogrammist B. (Italian printmaker) Arithmetic (series, Seven Liberal Arts) 1544 engraving British Museum |
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| Monogrammist B. (Italian printmaker) Astrology (series, Seven Liberal Arts) 1544 engraving British Museum |
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| Monogrammist B. (Italian printmaker) Geometry (series, Seven Liberal Arts) 1544 engraving British Museum |
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| Monogrammist B. (Italian printmaker) Grammar (series, Seven Liberal Arts) 1544 engraving British Museum |
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| Monogrammist B. (Italian printmaker) Music (series, Seven Liberal Arts) 1544 engraving British Museum |
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| Pirro Ligorio Figure Studies ca. 1540 drawing Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh |
from On Dreams
Virtuous thoughts of the day laye up good treasors for the night. Whereby the impressions of imaginarie formes arise into sober similitudes; acceptable unto our slumbering selves, and preparatory unto divine impressions. Hereby Solomons sleepe was happy; thus prepared Jacob might well dreame of Angells upon a pillow of stone, and the first sleepe of Adam might bee the best of any after.
That there should bee divine dreames seemes unreasonably doubted by Aristotle. That there are demonicall dreames wee have litle reason to doubt. Why may there not bee Angelicall? If there bee Guardian spirits, they may not bee unactively about us in sleepe, butt may sometimes order our dreames; and many strange hints, instigations, or discoveries which are so amazing unto us, may arise from such foundations.
But the phantasmes of sleepe do commonly walk in the great roads of naturall and animal dreames; wherin the thoughts or actions of the day are acted over and ecchoed in the night. Who can therefore wonder that Chrysostome should dreame of St. Paul who dayly read his epistles; or that Cardan* whose head was so taken up about the starres should dreame that his soule was in the moone! Even pious persons whose thoughts are dayly buisied about heaven, and the blessed state thereof, can hardly escape the nightly phantasmes of it; which though sometimes taken for illuminations or divine dreames, yet rightly perpended may prove butt animal visions and naturall night scenes of their waking contemplations.
– Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682)
*Girolamo Cardano, astrologer