Fragment of composition with the prince figure and the ladies gathered around him, for the painting ‘The Upbringing of Sigismund Augustus’ 1861

Here we have a fragment of a composition by Józef Simmler for the painting 'The Upbringing of Sigismund Augustus'. Note the recurring motif of the hand, gesturing and pointing in varied poses. These are not merely anatomical studies; they are vessels of expression, charged with the task of conveying narrative and emotion. Consider the raised hand of the kneeling figure, an age-old symbol across cultures, often associated with supplication, revelation, or a plea. These gestures echo across art history, recurring in classical sculptures, Renaissance paintings, and even in contemporary works. In ancient Roman rhetoric, the art of persuasive speaking relied heavily on hand gestures to amplify the spoken word. The hand becomes a visual echo of inner turmoil, a physical manifestation of thought. The artist uses the symbolic power of the hand to tap into a collective consciousness, to evoke a deep-seated sense of understanding and emotion.