Blank page; verso: Cherubim Design, for the Boston Public Library 1895 - 1919

Editor: Here we have John Singer Sargent's preparatory sketch, "Cherubim Design, for the Boston Public Library." It looks like pencil on paper. There is an unfinished quality to it that I find compelling. What do you make of the composition? Curator: Note the rhythmic repetition of forms. The cherubic figures, though faintly rendered, are bound within curvilinear structures. The interplay of line and shape creates a visual harmony, though incomplete. Consider the negative space and its relationship to the forms. Editor: It does have a certain balance, despite the incompleteness. I hadn't considered the empty space as contributing to that. Thanks! Curator: Indeed, the dynamism lies in the subtle tensions between what is present and what is implied.