Allegorical Figure of Melancholy 1763

Charles de La Traverse’s *Allegorical Figure of Melancholy* (1763) is a brown wash drawing depicting a woman in a pensive pose, surrounded by objects symbolizing mortality and the passage of time. The woman is seated on a globe, which alludes to the vastness of the universe and the transience of human life. A bat flies overhead, and a skull and other skeletal remains are scattered around the woman's feet, alluding to the inevitability of death. The drawing's monochromatic color palette emphasizes the somber mood of the subject matter.