Go Down Moses (Mural Study) c. 1945

Charles Alston made this drawing called 'Go Down Moses' at some point in his career. It looks like he used graphite on paper. I really feel for Alston making this. The figure of Moses looms large, doesn't he? Alston is thinking about power – who has it and how it's wielded. I can feel Alston trying to work through something, trying to figure out how to depict this kind of tension. The chained figure on the branch is really heavy. But I think Alston really nails it with the contrast between the sharpness of those geometrical shapes and the organic textures of the leaves and Moses' beard. It's this blend of control and chaos that really gets me thinking. It's not a simple story, and Alston isn't giving us any easy answers, and that's what makes it so compelling. He knew the history of painting and, like all artists, was speaking to it.