The artist’s Sister Mitche and Figure 

Editor: Here we have "The artist's Sister Mitche and Figure," a drawing by James Ensor. It has a really ethereal, unfinished quality, but at the same time there’s clearly a skilled hand at work here. How do you interpret this piece? Curator: Well, immediately, I am drawn to the visible labor inherent in drawing itself, how the materials dictate the feel of this. What kind of pencil do you think Ensor used? Hard or soft? Notice the variations of tone: these are produced by the pencil as much as the artist's choices. Editor: I’d guess a softer lead, given the smudginess and depth of some of those shadows near the figure at the bottom. Curator: Precisely. Consider also, the economic aspect: the availability of drawing materials in relation to his other output. Did he use drawing as preparatory for larger oil paintings, or was drawing a less costly end in itself? We could research the availability and expense of materials to tell us something about class and access to art making, and its place in the social sphere. Editor: That’s interesting! So it’s less about the subject matter itself and more about the conditions that allowed it to be made? Curator: Not exclusively. Look closely: is this drawing finished? Does the apparent lack of finish reflect on the work of women in the household? Who does that labor, is it properly valued and recognised? Editor: So the 'unfinished' aspect reflects the ongoing nature of domestic labour, or even Ensor’s view of it? It’s not just an aesthetic choice. Curator: Exactly. Material constraints and the depiction of lived experience intertwine. I find it fascinating to consider. Editor: I never thought about approaching a work this way! It's really opened my eyes to how art is inextricably linked to social and economic realities. Curator: And how considering the work reveals details and subtleties about that background. Art, after all, is always both a product and a producer of material culture.