| OCR Text |
Show 49 the Indian child, the seated figure, and in the immediate left foreground, the dog. Even so, the weight on the right side of the image was not sufficiently balanced. A portrait figure was needed in the immediate foreground to anchor and stabilize the left side of the composition. It is obvious in viewing the unfinished area of this proof state that Bodmer was aware of the problem and was looking for a solution to it by inserting the figure of Sfh-Sa. The proof image of Sfh-Sa is unfinished because it was only a test, and when the proof was pulled, perhaps Bodmer saw that he would have to search further for a solution. Thus, Vogel never completed the etching process for this figure. The left foreground remained awkward and unbalanced. The weakness of the Indian child and seated figure occupying the far left of the composition had not been resolved by the placement of Sfh-Sa in the foreground. There are no references for these figures in Bodmer's portfolio and they closely resemble the generalized features of the background figures of the central composition. These figures are too close to the viewer and the use of such "generic" filler is very noticable, giving this area of the proof a feeling of inconsistency and incompleteness. It is in the first state of Tableau 27 (Figure 2.6) that Bodmer's resolution to these problems can be seen. This undated first state, with all inscriptions added, was completed prior to September 17, 1837, when the first shipment was sent to Holscher.28 Bodmer's solution was very successful: Sfh-Sa has been moved to the extreme left of the circle, in front of Ahschupsa Masihichsi. Reproduced in reverse, this time Sfh-Sa was copied directly from the watercolor portrait; he stands in three-quarter profile, observing the dance. |
