Sketches: Profile Heads, Coins or Medals (recto); Trees (verso) c. 1885

Curator: This is "Sketches: Profile Heads, Coins or Medals" dating from about 1885, created by Henri Cros. The work combines graphite, colored pencil, and other media on paper and resides here at The Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: My first impression is of delicacy, like fleeting thoughts captured. The lines are so faint, so provisional, it feels intimate, like a peek into the artist’s notebook. Curator: It’s a fascinating study in how classical forms are reimagined, wouldn't you say? The profiles recall ancient coins and medals, evoking a sense of historical precedent, and the style itself has the hallmarks of academic practice common in 19th century studies. Editor: Absolutely, and I see a political dimension to it as well. The artist chooses to depict, primarily, heads of classical figures that often evoked ideas of authority and idealized beauty. Is he attempting to explore ideas of class, status, or some social hierarchy from this era? Curator: One might also look at how Cros treats line and form itself. Observe how some of the profiles are enclosed in circular forms, mimicking the coins themselves. It gives them an elevated, almost monumental quality, irrespective of their humble status as sketches. And the deliberate contrast between the more fully realized and fainter profiles creates a deliberate visual rhythm. Editor: Good point! Consider also, how the distribution of the faces is unbalanced, more grouped to the left. How would this offset some reading that is politically charged, especially given it looks more like a sketch? Curator: Interesting! The sketch is a study, a tool for understanding form and it embodies how we use art to understand art and, therefore, understand the culture surrounding us. It’s almost a meta-commentary. Editor: I concur; that resonates deeply. It speaks to the enduring allure of historical representation and our modern interpretations. Curator: It highlights the interplay between intention, skill, and our perception as the viewer of it all, too.