Vijf naaktstudies; drie met opgeheven armen, de andere op de rug gezien 1846 - 1904

Henri Fantin-Latour captured these five nude studies in pencil. Three figures stand with arms raised, while another lies on their back. Consider the raised arms. In antiquity, this gesture often signified supplication or grief. We see echoes of it in depictions of the Virgin Mary, her hands raised in sorrow at the crucifixion. But it also appears in triumphant poses, like Nike, the winged goddess of victory. The meaning shifts, depending on the context, yet the underlying emotional power remains. It surfaces in countless later works, each time subtly transformed by the artist's intent and cultural milieu. Think of the figures in Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People," where raised arms express revolutionary fervor. The gesture carries a powerful emotional charge; a primal cry, echoing through centuries of art, engaging us on a deeply subconscious level. This non-linear progression, this cyclical return of symbols, reveals the enduring power of images to connect us to the past.