Head of a Man and Figure Studies (recto); Minotaur with a Maiden (verso)

Theodor Richard Edward von Holst

1835–44 · Graphite · Drawings and Prints

Holst, the son of a Latvian music master who settled in London in 1807, studied with Henry Fuseli in the 1820s, and shared his teacher's special interest in fantastic, macabre, and supernatural themes. The precise subject of the present sheet is unknown. Holst delineated the features of a long-haired young man in fine, silvery strokes of graphite, then turned the sheet ninety degrees and sketched a scene of balletic grace: a man in tight-fitting garments lifts a woman in flowing draperies above his head. (Variations of this subject appear on the verso.)

Artist

Theodor Richard Edward von Holst

Date

1835–44

Medium

Graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. L. M. Isaacson, 1977