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Gretchen in prayer before the Mater Dolorosa (recto). Studies of a Gretchen, a bearded male head, and other figures (verso)

Subject Relates to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe German
1828–31
Not on view
Romantic literary and fantastic subjects predominate in Von Holst’s oeuvre, derived from authors such as Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare, and Victor Hugo. He turned most often to Goethe’s Faust, and the present image shows Gretchen praying to a figure of the Mater Dolorosa in a niche.
Von Holst’s precocious talent was recognized by Thomas Lawrence, who bought a drawing from the youth when the latter was ten years old. After taking lessons from Henry Fuseli, Von Holst entered the Royal Academy Schools at the age of fourteen in 1824. Fuseli remained a strong influence stylistically and the works of the two artists have often been confused. In 1959, an album assembled by John Welch Etherington Rolls (1807-1870) appeared at auction containing drawings by both artists, and subsequent research allowed a core group to be securely ascribed to Von Holst, the present sheet among them.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Gretchen in prayer before the Mater Dolorosa (recto). Studies of a Gretchen, a bearded male head, and other figures (verso)
  • Artist: Theodor Richard Edward von Holst (British, London 1810–1844 London)
  • Subject: Relates to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German, Frankfurt am Main 1749–1832 Weimar, Saxe-Weimar)
  • Date: 1828–31
  • Medium: Black and red chalk
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 10 1/4 × 12 7/8 in. (26 × 32.7 cm)
    Mount: 13 1/2 × 16 5/16 in. (34.3 × 41.5 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Allen Staley, 2017
  • Object Number: 2017.259.9a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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