Apollo Belvedere, after the Antique 1869

Curator: This is John Singer Sargent’s "Apollo Belvedere, after the Antique," now held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The sketch is so delicate, almost ethereal. It feels like a fleeting glimpse of a god. Curator: Sargent made this study after the famous marble sculpture. Consider the cultural capital attached to the antique, especially for an artist of his time. Editor: You can see his process in the visible pencil lines. He’s working out the form, grappling with the material legacy of antiquity. It speaks to the labor of art-making. Curator: Absolutely, but Sargent wasn’t simply replicating. He was participating in a long history of artists engaging with classical ideals and solidifying his reputation. Editor: I find it so intriguing, the hand of the artist mediating this god figure through the very act of drawing on paper. Curator: It gives a new depth to our understanding of how classical forms have been reinterpreted over time. Editor: Indeed, considering the materials really highlights the transition of classical forms in our modern era.