Portrait of a Young Man Leaning Head on Table 19th-20th century

Curator: Here we have Denman Waldo Ross’s oil on canvas, "Portrait of a Young Man Leaning Head on Table," housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Oh, there's such a quiet sadness in this piece. It's like a memory half-formed, the kind you chase but can’t quite grasp. Curator: The pose, the almost classical drapery... It feels like a symbolic rendering of melancholy, perhaps even a nod to classical depictions of mourning. Editor: I think the blurry, dream-like quality of the painting adds to this sense of being adrift, don't you? I get this feeling that time has no meaning here. Curator: Exactly! And I think those three spheres on the wall could symbolize something too, maybe something related to a past ritual or tradition. Editor: Maybe. Or maybe they're just lamps, casting a strange light on a young man's bad day! I guess it’s up to us to decide what it evokes. Curator: Indeed. What a remarkable piece to meditate upon the transience of youth and emotion. Editor: A lovely invitation to consider the mysteries that linger in the half-light of our own personal histories.