Study for "And Satan Came Also" 1877

Curator: Welcome. Before us is William Rimmer's sketch, Study for "And Satan Came Also," housed right here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Instantly, I feel a raw, unsettling energy. It's almost spectral, this dance of figures struggling to emerge from the paper. Curator: Indeed. Rimmer's use of line and composition is quite striking. The figures, rendered in graphite, seem to writhe in conflict, creating a palpable sense of tension and unrest. Editor: They're like figures caught in a nightmare, grappling with unseen forces. It makes you wonder what Rimmer himself was wrestling with. Curator: The sketch format here allows us direct insight into Rimmer's process, revealing the artist's initial conception of his subject with unmediated immediacy. Editor: It's a beautiful, brutal glimpse into the artist's mind. I leave this sketch feeling both shaken and strangely uplifted. Curator: A powerful response. A testament to art's ability to evoke the depths of human experience.