Gretchen in Prayer before a Statue of the Mater Dolorosa (recto); Studies of a Woman and Man's Head (verso) 1828 - 1831

This graphite drawing was made by Theodor Richard Edward von Holst in the 19th century, and captures Gretchen in prayer. The raised hands, a gesture seen across millennia, is a plea directed to the heavens, embodying both supplication and hope. This posture echoes the 'orant' figures found in early Christian catacombs. The bowed head, another recurring motif, speaks to humility and introspection, a universal expression of sorrow or repentance. Consider how these gestures appear in ancient Greek tragedies, medieval religious art, and even modern photography, each time imbued with a renewed sense of emotional weight. The weight of inherited symbols affects the production and interpretation of art at an unconscious level. Such symbolic language reveals our shared emotional and psychological experiences, with each generation reinterpreting and re-embodying these primal forms. So we see, like a serpent biting its tail, the cyclical nature of art and human expression.