Study of Notus (South Wind) and Eurus (East Wind) for "The Winds," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1921 - 1925

Curator: Here we have John Singer Sargent's "Study of Notus (South Wind) and Eurus (East Wind) for 'The Winds.'" It's an intriguing preparatory sketch for a larger mural. Editor: It does have a raw, unfettered feeling, doesn't it? The arm reaching out feels so full of potential, while the cherubic wind-blowers are just bizarre, like living croissants. Curator: The image captures a moment in time when decorative programs in civic spaces still held cultural cache. Sargent was consciously positioning himself in that tradition. Editor: I wonder what it feels like to have the wind on tap like that? I also wonder if Sargent ever thought of stopping for a croissant when sketching? Curator: These sketches, now at the Harvard Art Museums, let us glimpse a master's process, revealing how he considered form, composition, and the history he was drawing from. Editor: Absolutely. And in this sketch, that history feels deliciously alive, if slightly underbaked.