Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Analysis of Hannibal Lecter's drawing of Clarice Starling in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) movie / film analysis by Rob Ager / Collative Learning.
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Let’s now cover some details in lecter’s drawing of clarice. We couldn’t really apply a proper study to this drawing because the image was actually sketched by artist paula payne. Look at the price the original fetched here $44k. wow. But no doubt paula was working to detailed specifications about what to draw – for example her carrying the lamb obviously depicts that she, as an adult, keeps reliving her childhood trauma of trying toa save a spring lamb from the routine slaughter at he uncle’s ranch. So we can take some readable symbolism in that respect. But there’s more here and if you don’t think there is then look at this alternate sketch for the production. Clarice carrying a baby version of Hannibal lecter in place of the lamb. And in another incomplete sketch she is depicted as a holy figure.
In the film we see underneath the drawing that lecter had made some advance practice sketches to get the face right. In the finished picture clarice is drawn to be quite sexually alluring. We know lecter is attracted to her. She looks a bit sombre, not terrified, but also like she wants to kiss the viewer, as she’s looking straight at us. Her face is drawn to accentuate her attractiveness so she looks like a model. She has flowing hair, more so than her actual hair in the film, and she’s wearing wearing a flowing gown which is sensual. She seems almost like a ghost and perhaps that’s the religious symbolism overtone, just not as obvious as in these alternate sketches made for the film. Even more, sensual she has a lot of flesh showing below the neck.
The lamb she’s holding has its head at a breast feeding position, with the gown only needing to be pulled down a few inches to make that happen. This equates the lamb as equivalent to a human child she wants to mother and care for. Again look at this alternate sketch by the same artist – a baby at breast feeding height and it’s lecter with an adult head, so both a mothering and sexual relationship implied at the same time. Interesting that the lamb is looking at us too. I think clarice identifies with the lamb anyway, so the mutual stare makes sense.
The six crosses in the background I think are BB’s victims. At the start of the movie a newspaper clipping said bill skins fifth but then Frederica bimmels’ body was found. Those crosses are placed alongside a road that leads out beyond the fenced area in the foreground so I think that’s something about staying safe in the pen. And it’s not easy to tell without better resolution, but I think there is a Jesus figure on the foremost cross as well. this sketch designed for lecter’s cell shows exactly, and again with a group of three crosses, that so it makes sense it would be here as well.
Note that the road curves away from each group of crosses, as if avoiding them. There’s big imposing hills out there, not unlike the ones around buffalo bill’s house actually. And moody overcast skies, which we get plenty of later in the film as well. the whole landscape looks tilted and unstable and the fences too flimsy to do the job.
One other thing that stands out to me here is the masculinity of clarice’s hands. They’re quite large and they’re even bigger in this alternate sketch by the same artist. I think that’s something personal to the artists herself paula payne rather than something specified by the film makers for inclusion.
The last thing I will say about Lecter’s own artwork generally is that it does seem to depict a certain amount of torment in his mind as well. but I’ll not go into that here.
Analysis of Hannibal Lecter's drawing of Clarice Starling in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) movie / film analysis by Rob Ager / Collative Learning.
WEBSITE: collativelearning.com
PATREON (free sign up) patreon.com/RobAger
FACEBOOK: en-gb.facebook.com/RobAgerpublic
TWITTER: twitter.com/RobAger?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
#silenceofthelambs #hanniballecter #filmtheory #moviebuffs #filmfans #Explained #Breakdown #MovieBreakdown #EasterEggs #HiddenDetails #ThingsYouMissed #FilmAnalysis #MoviesExplained #Review
Let’s now cover some details in lecter’s drawing of clarice. We couldn’t really apply a proper study to this drawing because the image was actually sketched by artist paula payne. Look at the price the original fetched here $44k. wow. But no doubt paula was working to detailed specifications about what to draw – for example her carrying the lamb obviously depicts that she, as an adult, keeps reliving her childhood trauma of trying toa save a spring lamb from the routine slaughter at he uncle’s ranch. So we can take some readable symbolism in that respect. But there’s more here and if you don’t think there is then look at this alternate sketch for the production. Clarice carrying a baby version of Hannibal lecter in place of the lamb. And in another incomplete sketch she is depicted as a holy figure.
In the film we see underneath the drawing that lecter had made some advance practice sketches to get the face right. In the finished picture clarice is drawn to be quite sexually alluring. We know lecter is attracted to her. She looks a bit sombre, not terrified, but also like she wants to kiss the viewer, as she’s looking straight at us. Her face is drawn to accentuate her attractiveness so she looks like a model. She has flowing hair, more so than her actual hair in the film, and she’s wearing wearing a flowing gown which is sensual. She seems almost like a ghost and perhaps that’s the religious symbolism overtone, just not as obvious as in these alternate sketches made for the film. Even more, sensual she has a lot of flesh showing below the neck.
The lamb she’s holding has its head at a breast feeding position, with the gown only needing to be pulled down a few inches to make that happen. This equates the lamb as equivalent to a human child she wants to mother and care for. Again look at this alternate sketch by the same artist – a baby at breast feeding height and it’s lecter with an adult head, so both a mothering and sexual relationship implied at the same time. Interesting that the lamb is looking at us too. I think clarice identifies with the lamb anyway, so the mutual stare makes sense.
The six crosses in the background I think are BB’s victims. At the start of the movie a newspaper clipping said bill skins fifth but then Frederica bimmels’ body was found. Those crosses are placed alongside a road that leads out beyond the fenced area in the foreground so I think that’s something about staying safe in the pen. And it’s not easy to tell without better resolution, but I think there is a Jesus figure on the foremost cross as well. this sketch designed for lecter’s cell shows exactly, and again with a group of three crosses, that so it makes sense it would be here as well.
Note that the road curves away from each group of crosses, as if avoiding them. There’s big imposing hills out there, not unlike the ones around buffalo bill’s house actually. And moody overcast skies, which we get plenty of later in the film as well. the whole landscape looks tilted and unstable and the fences too flimsy to do the job.
One other thing that stands out to me here is the masculinity of clarice’s hands. They’re quite large and they’re even bigger in this alternate sketch by the same artist. I think that’s something personal to the artists herself paula payne rather than something specified by the film makers for inclusion.
The last thing I will say about Lecter’s own artwork generally is that it does seem to depict a certain amount of torment in his mind as well. but I’ll not go into that here.
