The Witches' Sabbath (Walpurgisnacht)

Max Browne has dated this sheet to circa 1830-35. The elaborate and complex composition is typical of von Holst's draughtsmanship, and as Browne notes, 'show[s] Holst letting off artistic steam in a world that few other souls would or could venture into.' (Browne, op.cit., 2010, p.18).

Von Holst, although often thought of as a literary painter, rarely created illustrations. His drawings and paintings instead are, as noted by Gert Schiff, 'improvisations upon a given text', as seen here (G. Schiff, ‘Theodore Matthias Von Holst’s “A Scene from Goethe’s ‘Faust’” (1833)’, Arts Magazine, January 1980, p.146).