Male Head in Profile; Arm, for "Dead Man Revived..."; verso: Three Heads and Arm 1811 - 1813

Editor: So this is Washington Allston’s "Male Head in Profile; Arm, for 'Dead Man Revived...'" It's a pencil drawing on blue paper. It feels very classical, but also detached, like a fragment of something larger. How do you interpret this figure study? Curator: It's interesting you say detached. Allston was deeply interested in the sublime, and the fragment, the ruin, often evoked that feeling. This is clearly a study for a larger work, but it stands alone, a little like a memory. The cool tone enhances that sense, don't you think? Editor: Yes, it does! It gives it this ghostly feel. Curator: Precisely! It is an incomplete thought which sparks many thoughts within us. Allston's genius, I believe. Editor: I'll certainly look at sketches differently from now on. Thanks!