Study for Ceiling Decoration 19th-20th century

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Study for Ceiling Decoration." It's a pencil sketch, showing various figures. It's interesting to see this kind of draftsmanship. What can we glean from this in terms of its creation? Curator: Well, looking at the materiality, the pencil on paper itself speaks volumes. This wasn't about the finished product, but about Sargent exploring the very act of creation. How does the labor reflected in these sketches inform the finished decorations, and who was involved in that labor? Editor: So, focusing less on the figures themselves and more on how the work came into being? Curator: Precisely. Consider the social context – a study for a ceiling decoration suggests a patron, a commission. What does that relationship reveal about the art market of the time? Editor: I hadn't thought about the economic side of it. Thank you.