Words + Images

Hands, hands, hands.  I was surprised in preparing this post to discover that I have written about hands quite a bit over the years. Two posts that moved me most were from four years ago, Hands I and Hands II.   Hands stood out again during a recent visit to the Boston Public Library, visiting yet again the room with the Abbey Murals. I’ve photographed the murals often but this time I tried to focus on the hands.

For those new to the murals, in the 1890s Edwin Austin Abbey began a series of 15 wall paintings depicting The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail (based on a version of the legend by Henry James).  They were installed in 1895.

On the BPL website, you can read a description of the 15 panels and the story they depict.  Given how many shy maidens must have their hands kissed by Sir Galahad …

… and how many babes, swords and various vessels must be borne aloft and so on …

… well, it’s clear why Abbey paid so much attention to the hands of his legendary figures.