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Curator: Here we have a page of sketches by John Flaxman, currently held in the Tate Collections. They give the impression of something quite ephemeral, don't they? Editor: Indeed. The lightness of the pencil on paper evokes a sense of fleeting inspiration. It makes me wonder about the artist's process. Was he designing funerary monuments? Curator: Flaxman's neoclassicism flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period saturated with imagery of civic virtue and grief. His outline drawings became incredibly influential, circulating widely through engravings. Editor: It's fascinating how Flaxman's designs, even in this raw, sketchbook form, could be disseminated so widely. Consider the materiality, though; the paper itself, the graphite. Were these materials readily accessible, shaping a new, broader artistic landscape? Curator: A pertinent point, and one that shifts our focus onto the accessibility of art production and consumption during this era. Editor: Precisely! And it really offers so many interesting perspectives.