Sketch for ‘Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy’ 1828

Editor: So, this is John Varley's "Sketch for 'Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy.'" The date is unknown, and it's currently at the Tate. It's a pencil sketch of three faces in profile. I find it kind of unsettling, almost like mugshots. What do you make of it? Curator: Unsettling, yes, but perhaps intentionally so! Varley was deeply into astrology and believed facial features revealed character. It's as though he's inviting us to analyze these heads, seeking the stars in their profiles. Do you see any patterns emerging, anything that might suggest a connection to the zodiac? Editor: Not really, they just look like people from the past. Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe Varley believed that by studying the minute details, we could unlock their celestial destinies, and by extension, our own. It’s a charmingly bonkers idea, isn't it? Editor: It is, but it makes me look at it in a new way. Curator: Exactly! Art is always about seeing things anew.