Madame Franz Adolf von Stuerler, born Matilda Jarman 

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres created this portrait of Madame Franz Adolf von Stuerler, née Matilda Jarman, in 1861. Note how Madame von Stuerler clasps her hands, a gesture that speaks volumes. The gesture of clasped hands has traversed centuries, appearing in Roman funerary sculpture as a symbol of farewell and enduring affection. Yet, its meaning evolves. In medieval art, similar gestures signal prayer or supplication. Here, Ingres refines it; the hands are at once demure and self-assured, suggesting Madame von Stuerler's inner life, her thoughts guarded yet present. The motif is powerful precisely because it is ambivalent. Consider the psychoanalytic dimension: the hands as a point of contact between the internal and external worlds. Ingres, consciously or not, taps into a reservoir of collective memory, evoking a sense of intimacy, loss, and connection. This is more than a mere portrait; it is a study in the enduring power of gesture, a subtle dance between presence and absence, reaching us across time.