Singer with a glove 1878

This is Edgar Degas' pastel on paper, "Singer with a Glove", housed in the Fogg Museum. Note the singer's gloved hand, raised in a gesture that speaks volumes. The raised hand, throughout history, has served as a potent symbol, a visual echo across centuries. Consider the raised hands in ancient Roman oratory, signaling power, direction, and command. Similarly, we find it in religious iconography, a symbol of benediction. Here, the singer's gesture, while ostensibly part of her performance, taps into this deeper well of collective memory. The act of singing itself touches the depths of the human psyche. Song has been used as a vessel for both personal and collective emotion, spanning ecstatic joy to profound sorrow. Notice the singer's open mouth, a universal symbol of expression. This is not just a performance; it's a conduit, a release, a connection to something larger than herself. The symbolic hand, raised in song, has been passed down and imbued with new life.