The Figure of Sarah, Bride of Tobias 1830 - 1882

Curator: Look at this preparatory sketch by Henri Lehmann, "The Figure of Sarah, Bride of Tobias," created sometime between 1830 and 1882. It's now held at The Met. Editor: She seems…suspended. Like she’s reaching out, almost pushing something away, but her stance feels so ethereal, so light. It's interesting how the nude figure contradicts what I know of Academic tradition, and yet it embodies that approach perfectly! Curator: Well, it is a sketch. Note the material evidence: the pencil strokes on paper, a fairly direct relationship between hand and medium. I can see Lehmann wrestling with form, adjusting the stance…he's working *through* something, and these become traces of his labor. What do you think he's aiming at in a larger context? Editor: In essence, Sarah is warding off the demon Asmodeus. I find the ambiguity here to be so fascinating. It's almost as though she's caught between worlds. You feel that struggle just through the line. It gives us a sense of the unseen, the felt reality beyond just flesh and bone. Lehmann wasn't just recording; he was channeling, attempting to capture this inner drama using very accessible material Curator: I see your point. Lehmann, steeped in academic tradition, elevates the raw physicality to explore themes of faith and divine intervention. Yet, one could also suggest it's less about individual spirituality, more about power dynamics—who controls access to such depictions? What kind of market was sustained to trade those pictures and commodities? Editor: Hmm. Fair enough. Although I have to say I am left with her gesture of openhandedness. I believe there's a generosity of spirit, something fundamentally human and receptive, being worked out here. A gesture beyond history. Curator: True, the work invites varied interpretations. It presents the viewer with the artistic process of wrestling the form itself. The bare bones of a larger narrative. Editor: Absolutely! It feels like witnessing the artist’s private moment of inspiration, which can really unlock something special inside ourselves.