Anabasis 1957

Benton Spruance made this evocative lithograph, Anabasis, and what strikes me most is the sense of a journey, not just across a landscape, but through a story. The ochre and muted tones create a timeless, almost dreamlike quality. You can imagine Spruance working on the stone, each mark carving out a space for figures and horses that emerge from the ground. Look closely, and you’ll see the textures and patterns. Are they marks of the artist's hand, or do they resemble a palimpsest of cultural memory? I imagine Spruance as a kind of storyteller, layering image upon image until this scene of movement and migration comes to life. It’s like he’s saying something about our shared history, the paths we take, and the stories we carry with us. Artists, like travelers, borrow from the past as they move into the future.