Two Small Sketches of Cellini's "Perseus," Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence c. 1909 - 1910

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Two Small Sketches of Cellini's 'Perseus,' Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence." It's a pencil drawing, and I'm struck by how unfinished it feels, yet it captures a sense of monumental power. What do you make of it? Curator: I see a negotiation of power and representation. Sargent, an American expatriate, sketches Cellini's Perseus, a symbol of Medici power. How does Sargent, an outsider, engage with this loaded imagery? Is he critiquing or admiring this history of dominance? Editor: So, it's not just a study of form, but a commentary on power dynamics? Curator: Precisely! Consider the sketchiness itself – is it a deliberate act of distancing, a refusal to fully embrace the monument's original intent? Sargent's gaze, mediated by his own identity and the complexities of colonialism, invites us to question whose stories are told and how.