Untitled,

Untitled
Abduction (Entführung), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series,

Abduction (Entführung), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series
The glove is abducted by a strange, prehistoric-looking animal while the glove’s finder/Klinger reaches for it in vain through the bars of his window. Klinger’s alternate title for this print was Dream’s End: the end of hope and desire but also the end of nightmare and anxiety. Klinger’s winged abductor resembles a pterodactyl. It […]
Repose (Ruhe), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series,

Repose (Ruhe), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series
In a space that resembles a theater stage, the glove is at rest on an ornate gueridon, or table. A phalanx of long women’s gloves forms the stage curtain, or—in another association—acts as the chorus line behind the diva at center stage. An unexplained strange animal seems to ogle the star from behind the curtain.
Cupid (Amor), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series,

Cupid (Amor), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series
Klinger’s alternate title for this image was On Waking. No longer a dream subject, the glove returns to being a mundane object. The god of love still lingers, but his bow and arrows are discarded, perhaps signaling that the glove’s powers of attraction do not exist in the waking world. Klinger’s mastery of the […]
Yearnings (Wünsche), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series,

Yearnings (Wünsche), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series
The glove, having been taken home, sprouts desires like a flowering tree. The protagonist’s/Klinger’s despairing pose, face buried in hands, suggests that not all of these yearnings are happy and pleasurable but also produce discomfort and perhaps fear.
Triumph (Triumph), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series,

Triumph (Triumph), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series
The glove’s maritime adventure continues. It is seen crossing the sea triumphantly in a seashell chariot drawn by magnificent seahorses. This print makes witty reference to the traditional motif of Venus, the Roman goddess of beauty and love, who, according to ancient mythology, emerged from the sea riding triumphantly on a seashell. In contrast to […]
Homage (Huldigung), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series,

Homage (Huldigung), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series
The action here has moved from the sea to land. Following its triumphal progress across the sea, the glove now shows itself on a flat rock like a throne, accepting the homage being paid it by the waves, whose whitecaps and spume have been transformed into a sea of roses.
Fears (Ängste), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series,

Fears (Ängste), from the Glove (Ein Handschuh) series
The glove appears in a nightmare suffered by the finder/Klinger. Continuing the watery motif, other gloves swim upward, perhaps to free the lost glove that looms large, wedged behind the sleeper’s pillow. Other figures struggling in the flood try to rouse the dreamer and entreat him to return the glove before they all must drown. […]
Passage to Never Land,

Passage to Never Land
Conclave of Monsters,
