Study of Eros for Eros and Psyche, relief decoration, Rotunda, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston c. 1917 - 1921

This pencil drawing of Eros was made as a study for a relief decoration by John Singer Sargent. I really appreciate the raw quality of this sketch. You can almost feel Sargent working through his ideas, line by line. Look how the shading defines the figure's form. The figure reclines with such an ease and grace that feels very human. I wonder if Sargent was thinking about classical sculpture when he made this? Or perhaps he was just trying to capture the beauty of the human body. Artists are always having a conversation with each other, across time and space. Sargent was clearly inspired by the art of the past, and he, in turn, has inspired so many artists since. That's the beauty of art, it's always evolving and changing, but it's also always connected to what came before.