Death in the Mountains, 1977

About the Work

It was on his second trip to the Caucasian mountains that the artist carried out this drawing, which still echoes with impressions of his first travels through Asia. Once again, we witness a funerary procession: In a snowstorm, two men are straining to bring a corpse safely into a valley on a horse-drawn sled. Steep cliffs drop away into threatening depths—and suddenly a doll-like angel of death descends upon the group, causing the horse to shy dangerously.