Night, from the Medici Chapel, after Michelangelo (recto and verso) 1913

Curator: Sargent's sketch, "Night, from the Medici Chapel, after Michelangelo" presents a figure in repose, rendered with striking economy. It dates from 1913. Editor: The stark lines and monochrome palette evoke a feeling of melancholic solitude. What do you make of that gesture, her head resting on her hand? Curator: Well, it echoes Michelangelo's original sculpture. Sargent's interest likely lay in reinterpreting a master's work through the lens of his own rapid, confident mark-making. Consider how the negative space shapes the composition, allowing the raw material of the paper to participate. Editor: I wonder, too, about the female figure as a symbol of night, burdened perhaps by the weight of societal expectations, or simply the quiet introspection that nighttime allows. Curator: Perhaps. Sargent was, after all, engaging with a specific artistic tradition, and this drawing offers a tangible example of his process in understanding and responding to it. Editor: An engagement, indeed. It's fascinating to see how one artist interprets another across time and through different media. Curator: Precisely. It reveals the ongoing conversation between artists across eras.