Head and Shoulders of a Girl in Profile, for "Belshazzar's Feast" 1821 - 1828

Editor: This is Washington Allston's "Head and Shoulders of a Girl in Profile, for 'Belshazzar's Feast'". It's a small drawing, quite delicate. What strikes you about it? Curator: I see a young woman, rendered with incredible vulnerability. Knowing this was a study for a larger, unfinished work about power and its potential corruption, I wonder about her role. Is she a figure of innocence, soon to be corrupted by the excesses of Belshazzar's court? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't considered the context of "Belshazzar's Feast". Curator: Allston, deeply influenced by Romanticism and religious ideals, often grappled with themes of morality and the human condition. The girl's bowed head could represent not just innocence, but perhaps also the burden of witnessing injustice. What do you make of her downcast gaze? Editor: It suggests a sense of sorrow, maybe even resignation. Considering it in relation to a feast does make it seem like she's an observer to something immoral. Thanks for pointing that out!