Dostoevsky [illustration for Book V, chap. V: The Grand Inquis] 1949

This is Fritz Eichenberg's illustration for Book V, chapter V of Dostoevsky’s "The Grand Inquisitor." I can imagine Eichenberg hunched over his surface, squinting in the dim light. He’s building up the image bit by bit, scratch by scratch, his hand moving back and forth to create the deep shadows that define the figure. Look at the man’s jacket— the lines are so dense, they feel like a heavy weight. I wonder if Eichenberg ever felt like he was wrestling with Dostoevsky himself? Trying to capture the psychological depth, the philosophical weight, of Dostoevsky's ideas and characters, all through the simple pressure of a tool on paper. There is a figure behind Dostoevsky, hovering like an angel or a devil on his shoulder, but it’s hard to tell which, which is fitting given the themes of temptation and morality at play in the "Grand Inquisitor."