Sketches of Six Classical Figures n.d.

Raymond de Lafage’s sketch presents us with a whirlwind of classical figures, rendered in pen and brown ink. Note the figure in the helmet, a clear allusion to Mars, the god of war. His raised arm isn't just a gesture; it echoes across time, a symbol of power we see replicated in countless depictions of leaders and gods, from antiquity to our modern age. It is an inherited form, a pathognomic formula, if you will. Consider the reclining figure, evocative of ancient river gods. This posture is not merely rest; it is the embodiment of place, of the genius loci. How often have we seen such figures in the art of the Renaissance, a revival of classical forms expressing a deep connection to ancestral spirits and the land? These figures tap into something primal. They are not just drawings; they are vessels of collective memory, echoing through the corridors of our cultural past. This is not linear progression, but a cyclical return.