Edward Calvert Preparing to Sacrifice a Lamb, Frederick Tathem, from a Little-Known Photograph, Francis Finch, Samuel Palmer When He First Met William Blake, Edward Calvert 1956

Leonard Baskin created this print, of several portrait miniatures, with an unknown method. The repetition of the human face invites a symbolic interpretation: the portraits arranged in a triangular formation, pointing upwards, may be interpreted as an ascending symbolic motif towards enlightenment, with each face representing a step towards it. The portrait has, since ancient times, served as a vessel for memory, a symbolic effort to eternalize the self. We see this impulse echoed in ancient Roman death masks, preserved likenesses intended to keep the deceased present among the living. But what are we to make of the artist’s interest in portraiture? Does it point to an artistic endeavor to capture the human spirit, or is the artist engaging in a dialogue with the past? The faces here are presented as detached, almost clinical studies. This detachment could symbolize an attempt to dissect and understand the human condition. These faces, floating in isolation, might be a meditation on identity, memory, and the enduring quest to capture the essence of the individual.