Study for St. Margaret's Church, from Microcosm of London c. 1809

Curator: This drawing, circa 1809, by Augustus Charles Pugin is a study for St. Margaret's Church, and part of his "Microcosm of London" series. He worked with pencil, graphite, ink and etching on paper to give us this interior view. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the incredible lightness and delicacy. It feels almost ghostly, as if the building itself is a fading memory etched onto the page. The light pouring in through the large window...it’s quite sublime, really. Curator: The choice to represent St. Margaret's through line drawings certainly frames how we might consider religious institutions in this period, with many calling for parliamentary reform, and even the established church being targeted for reform. Editor: You see the political implications so clearly! For me, the absence of color emphasizes the geometric precision and the architectural detail, highlighting the aspiration, maybe even the hubris, involved in designing such spaces. Look at those soaring arches – they're practically yearning for heaven. Curator: Precisely. It highlights the design aspects, showing the bones, you might say. We are looking at a drawing, a preparatory work before the engraving. Pugin's background in architectural drafting informs the precise rendering, yes, but it also directs our attention toward his meticulous attention to detail, almost fetishistic given England’s social volatility at the time. Editor: I see it. There’s this… restraint in the lines that reflects the kind of Protestant austerity taking root, perhaps a departure from the showier expressions of faith. I wonder how deliberate that was, given all of that societal and institutional turbulence that you brought to the fore. It's as though he captured a specific cultural atmosphere. Curator: I am more convinced of Pugin responding to those tensions given his life, so perhaps we are in agreement, then? Editor: Maybe! Either way, there’s a lot that a simple pencil stroke can convey, isn't there? This delicate ghost speaks volumes.