The Titular Councilor Akaki Akakijewitsch 1918

Curator: Walter Gramatté, who lived from 1897 to 1929, created this stark image, "The Titular Councilor Akaki Akakijewitsch." It's currently held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s haunting. The figure seems hunched, consumed by the desk before him. The heavy shading gives it an almost claustrophobic feel. Curator: Gramatté was associated with Expressionism, and here we can see some of its concern for the emotional weight of modern life. Editor: I think the power of the image is in how it transcends its time. It speaks to the alienation of labor, of being swallowed whole by the work. I feel the same in front of my computer! Curator: Well, this resonates particularly because Nikolai Gogol's story explores the dehumanizing effects of bureaucracy on an individual. Editor: I find that even knowing that, what stays with me is that feeling of being caught, trapped within the frame. Curator: It's a powerful example of how art can draw us into a shared experience of being human, even when the details seem specific to a time. Editor: Definitely. This makes me reflect on what work *really* means to me.