Eternal Jacob 1952

Benton Spruance made this lithograph of Jacob wrestling, sometime in the mid twentieth century, with a real sense of drama and immediacy. Look at how Spruance uses the lithographic crayon to build up these layers of tone; the dark areas are so intense and velvety, while the lighter passages have this delicate, almost shimmering quality. There is a real sense of physical struggle here, between Jacob and the Angel, but it’s also a kind of embrace, like the figures are entwined. It feels like they are battling it out in the dark, or in the subconscious, which is a space I feel pretty familiar with. Notice the way the angel’s wing wraps protectively around Jacob’s body? It’s a gesture that suggests both power and tenderness, and maybe even the possibility of redemption. I’m reminded of Kathe Kollwitz; like her work, there’s an intensity in Spruance’s process which speaks to both suffering and resilience in the human condition.