Study for the Prophet Obadiah, Boston Public Library; verso: blank page

Editor: Here we have John Singer Sargent's "Study for the Prophet Obadiah," a drawing, it seems, without a precise date. The figure's posture makes me feel a sense of deep contemplation, maybe even despair. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Oh, I feel it too, that weight, that almost unbearable burden. But look closer—isn’t there a hint of defiance in the set of his jaw? Sargent, I think, is showing us not just sorrow but the struggle against it. The prophet's wrestling with something profound. Is it with god, himself, or maybe fate? Editor: That's interesting - I hadn't considered defiance. I was only focusing on the sorrowful face. Curator: Exactly! Art, at its best, is a mirror reflecting our own multifaceted selves. Editor: I’ll definitely remember that.