Drapery Study for Victory, "Death and Victory," Widener Library, Harvard University 1921 - 1922

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Drapery Study for Victory." The strong lines give the fabric such weight, and the shadows look so heavy. How might this study relate to broader themes of power and representation in Sargent's work? Curator: Sargent, working during an era of immense social change, was no stranger to power dynamics. Consider drapery as a metaphor: obscuring, revealing, bestowing status. How does this study, a preparation for a mural about "Death and Victory," speak to societal attitudes towards conflict and heroism? Editor: It's interesting to consider how even fabric can be a symbol of authority or even mourning. Curator: Exactly. And in Sargent's time, the visual language of power was deeply intertwined with gender, class, and even colonial narratives. What does this study reveal, and perhaps conceal, about those power structures? Editor: I see the connection. Thank you. Curator: Of course. Art is always a conversation.