Sleep and His Half Brother Death (Grief) Poster

This design features a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist John William Waterhouse (1849–1917). It shows two boys, one of whom is sleeping and the other of whom is dead. The boys are representations of the metaphysical concepts of Sleep and Death. The painting is inspired by the Greek gods Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death), who, in Greek mythology, were brothers. Despite their similar postures, the boy in the foreground is bathed in light, while his brother is shrouded in darkness; the former therefore represents Sleep, while the latter Death. The personification of Sleep is clasping poppies, which are symbolic of narcosis and dreams. The original artwork was painted in 1874.