Design for Illustration to ‘Chinese Tales’; ‘History of Jezdael’: Four Studies of a Girl Shooting with a Bow. Verso: Sketches 1781

Curator: This is Thomas Stothard's, Design for Illustration to ‘Chinese Tales’; ‘History of Jezdael’: Four Studies of a Girl Shooting with a Bow, from the Tate Collections. I find it so evocative. Editor: It has such an unfinished quality—almost dreamlike. I'm drawn to the repeating figure, a girl taking aim, embodying a kind of focused power. Curator: Absolutely. Stothard captures the dynamism of the figure through these rapid, almost scribbled lines. There's a sense of movement inherent in the repetition. It reminds me of a film strip. Editor: It speaks to ideas of agency and resistance. A girl with a bow disrupts traditional power dynamics, particularly within the Orientalist context implied by the title. Curator: That's interesting. It makes me consider the potential for the figure to be read not only as a study of movement but as a subversive act. Editor: Exactly, and it also highlights the importance of the gaze, who is this girl taking aim at? Curator: It gives the work a sense of contemporary relevance, which is incredible, considering the artist lived in the 1700s and 1800s. Editor: It really does. I appreciate how it manages to feel both timeless and rooted in its specific historical context.