Seated Draped Male, for "Philosophy," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1922 - 1924

Curator: This drawing, "Seated Draped Male," by John Singer Sargent, provides insight into the artist's process for his "Philosophy" mural at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Editor: The grid immediately strikes me. It reveals the very methodology of creation, doesn’t it? Like architectural blueprints for the human form. Curator: Absolutely. The grid lends itself to the idea of measured thought, each square potentially representing a step in the philosophical process. We are invited to contemplate the human form as a blueprint for greater concepts. Editor: And what kind of pencil on this yellow paper? The ghostliness of the lines, a hint of the labor, almost like paleontology, digging for the human form. Curator: Sargent was undoubtedly searching for the ideal form to embody philosophy, and through this figure, viewers can glimpse the very material and symbolic foundations of abstract thought. Editor: Yes, in this study, one sees a figure that is both earthly and intellectual, both material and spiritual. Curator: I find the figure’s contemplative pose inviting. Editor: Indeed, an invitation to reflect on both the figure’s representation and the means of its creation.