Bilderdijk has tried here to paint the wood and the pieces of paper as realistically as people, most likely by using examples from his direct surroundings as inspiration. The wood might be a part of his own floor or table, and the images and the map might come from his personal collection.
The piece of paper on the top right is an image of Christ as a young boy by Jacques Callot (1592-1635). If you look closely, you can see how the image is signed on the bottom right. According to his 1797 library auction catalogue, Bilderdijk was the owner of several Callot prints. Based on Callot’s signature we can even conclude that we are dealing with a print of the second state.
