Sketch of a Sphinx [?] (verso)

1880

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a quick pencil sketch of a sphinx—wings folded, head turned, one paw raised. This isn’t just any sphinx. It’s the same one Merson later painted cradling Mary and baby Jesus in *Rest on the Flight into Egypt*. The drawing is flipped, like a mirror image of the finished work. It feels like peeking at a secret first thought. Look up *Rest on the Flight into Egypt* at The Cleveland Museum of Art.