The Offering

Fernand Khnopff

1891 · Pastel, graphite, and chalk on paper · Drawings and Prints

A nude woman makes an offering to a portrait bust on an altar. She looks out as though the viewer’s appearance has interrupted her ritual. Khnopff’s Symbolism mixed an admiration for medieval and Renaissance imagery with a fascination with the occult, ritual, and the dream world. The altar here resembles one in his home, created to revere Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep. The blue cartouche at the center is inscribed with a partially effaced NEVER MORE—a quote from Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven. This soft pastel drawing is characteristic of Khnopff’s muted and hazy style.

Artist

Fernand Khnopff

Date

1891

Medium

Pastel, graphite, and chalk on paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005