12. Table XII. Combination of the Features of the Engaging 

Curator: This delicate sketch, held in the Tate collections, is titled "12. Table XII. Combination of the Features of the Engaging" by Alexander Cozens. Editor: It's interesting how minimal it is. Just a suggestion of a profile, really, with intense detail given to the hair. Almost like a study of coiffure. Curator: Cozens was quite interested in typologies. This is a plate from his series exploring ideal beauty, rooted in Enlightenment ideals of categorization and the public role of art in shaping taste. Editor: I see the title calls it "engaging," which makes me think about the performative aspects of beauty, particularly for women in the 18th century. How one's appearance could be deployed as a social tool. Curator: Precisely. And his work does invite us to consider how those social forces operate through the visual culture of the time. Editor: It's fascinating to consider how these visual languages evolve, and sometimes, how they stubbornly persist. Curator: Indeed, seeing the image and thinking about its history certainly gives it a new dimension.