“Hands often carry deep symbolic meaning in art, representing themes such as power, creation, healing, spirituality, and human connection,” but less so with palms, says Whimsy columnist CLIVE WILLIAMS.

I told my doctor: “It hurts when I do this.” He said: “Don’t do that.” –Henny Youngman

Hands have always featured prominently in art. Sculptor Auguste Rodin made them oversize to draw attention to them – as can be seen in his works at the Australian National Gallery. 

Human hands have been a subject of fascination in art for centuries due to their expressive and symbolic nature, technical complexity and deep connection to human creativity and identity. 

Hands can convey a wide range of emotions and gestures, from love, anger and fear to prayer and contemplation. Subtle movements and positions of the fingers can tell stories and express feelings that words cannot, making them a powerful narrative tool in visual art. 

Hands often carry deep symbolic meaning in art, representing themes such as power, creation, healing, spirituality, and human connection.

For example, Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel depicts the moment of divine creation through the nearly touching hands of God and Adam. In religious art, open hands may symbolise humility or divine grace, while clasped hands often signify prayer or unity.

Drawing or sculpting hands is also a technical challenge. It’s difficult due to their anatomical complexity, featuring intricate bones, muscles, and joints. 

Mastering the representation of hands demonstrates an artist’s skill and understanding of proportion, anatomy and perspective. Many artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, have used hands to showcase their technical prowess in works such as Study of Hands.

Hands are central to the act of creation itself – artists use their hands to sculpt, paint, draw, and shape. This meta-quality makes hands a natural subject in art. Hands can symbolise the creative process or craftsmanship, emphasising the human capacity for innovation and transformation.

Hands often serve as extensions of the mind and soul in art. For example, a clenched fist can suggest tension or defiance – while relaxed, open hands can evoke calmness or surrender.

Human hands remain a profound subject because of their visual beauty, symbolic richness, and intrinsic role in human expression. They capture the duality of fragility and strength, making them endlessly fascinating for artists and viewers alike.

It’s often said that someone knows something as well as the back of their hand. However, if you asked someone to draw the back of their hand without looking, they would probably not be able to do so. That’s even more the case with the palm.

The palm has long been another area of fascination, mainly because of the lines on it. Palmistry, also known as chiromancy, is the practice of interpreting the lines, shapes, and features of the hands to gain insight into a person’s character, personality or future. 

However, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that the lines on a person’s palm correspond to their personality traits or future events.

Interpretations in palmistry can vary widely among practitioners, leading to inconsistent readings. Many palmistry readings rely on generalised statements that could apply to a broad range of people and circumstances, making them seem accurate but lacking true predictive value.

Furthermore, the lines and shapes on the hands are determined by genetics and environmental factors during foetal development and have no known link to personality or life events.

While palmistry may be an interesting cultural or historical subject, it should not be relied upon for making important life decisions. Critical thinking and evidence-based analysis are much more reliable predictors.

On a lighter note: True story. A friend was on holiday in the Emerald Isle. Rising fairly early one morning, he went down to the hotel reception to ask for a newspaper. The receptionist told him they didn’t have any newspapers, but there was a corner shop 200 metres away that sold them. My friend proceeded to said shop, and was greeted with: “Top of the morning sir, can I help you?”

“Have you any English newspapers?”

“Sure, which one would you be wanting?” 

“The Daily Mail please”. 

“Certainly” was the response, “Will you be wanting today’s or yesterday’s?”. 

“Today’s would be just great” was my friend’s response. 

“Well, in that case,” said the shopkeeper, “you’ll have to come back tomorrow.” 

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist