Illustrations to the book of the prophet Isaiah

Four heads are pressed close together in a tight cluster: two elders in wrapped turbans look off to the side, a bearded man in front gazes downward, and a young woman at right, head covered in cloth, raises a small bunch of leaves or berries in her hand. A pale ridge of mountains rises behind them against a dark sky.

Coarse, grainy crayon strokes and dense stippled shading model each face out of near-black shadow into sharp white planes. The tight cropping and absence of any other setting give the composition an intimate, brooding stillness.