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Made on the occasion of the temporary exhibition 'Flowers and sculptures' in the Zuiderpark in 1941, the sculpture 'The Awakening' came via the Carnegieplein to Clingendael. There, in park-like surroundings against a backdrop of trees, the white stone sculpture is shown to its best advantage. The Awakening' was made by Lex Meeussen. A family member donated the sculpture to the municipality of The Hague after Meeussen's death.

Meeussen depicted the awakening as a young naked woman who - eyes still closed - places her right hand against her forehead and her left on her shoulder. It is the delicious stretching out of a state of half sleep. These expressive gestures tend towards the theatrical. That such an approach to a theme is not unfamiliar to Meeussen can be seen in other sculptures, such as 'De Smeekbede' ('The Supplication'), which was created around 1930. In a completely naturalistic style, Meeussen depicted a woman on her knees, sorrowfully pleading.

Her sculpture breathes the atmosphere of the Renaissance. She herself said that she enjoyed being in Italy to study among the work of Fra Fillipo Lippi (c. 1406-1469) and Michelangelo (1475-1564). In form and pose, Meeussens sculpture in Clingendael shows similarities to Michelangelo's famous sculpture of the 'Dying Slave' (1513-1516).

Meeussen did not only make sculptures, however. She also painted and drew, and wrote plays such as 'Scheppingsdrang' and 'Drijfzand'. In addition, she spent a considerable time working on the realisation of a large peace and resurrection monument. Her motivation was the fear of a third world war. She made models, designed reliefs and sculptures and managed to win over many people to her plans. She preferred to see her monument erected in the south of the country, on the border with Belgium or Germany. It was not to be: the monument never came.