Hope

Art Historical Context

Hans Ulrich Jegli’s delicate drawing “Hope,” created during the artist’s lifetime (16041654), offers a glimpse into the intimate world of seventeenth-century draftsmanship. Executed in pen and brown ink with brownish-gray wash on a very small sheet, the work measures just over three by four inches. The medium allows for fluid lines and subtle tonal modeling, typical of preparatory studies or allegorical sketches produced in the Baroque era. The presence of female nudes suggests an allegorical personification of the virtue Hope, a common theme in early modern European art. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2007 through the Jean A. Bonna Gift, the drawing now resides in the Department of Drawings and Prints. Its compact scale and economical technique highlight the artist’s skill in conveying form and emotion with minimal means. Viewers can appreciate how the wash creates soft shadows that give the figures a sense of volume and quiet introspection, inviting contemplation of both artistic process and symbolic meaning.