Sketch for Illustration to Bowyer’s ‘History of England’: Two Sleeping Children, for the Headpiece ‘The Murder of Edward V and his Brother’ 1805

Editor: Here we have Thomas Stothard's "Sketch for Illustration to Bowyer’s ‘History of England’: Two Sleeping Children, for the Headpiece ‘The Murder of Edward V and his Brother’". It's quite small, just a little over 6x7 centimeters, and the brown ink gives it a somber feel. What do you make of this piece? Curator: Given its purpose as a sketch for an illustration, I'm drawn to consider Stothard's artistic labor. How does the medium—ink on paper—influence our understanding of the eventual, reproduced image and its consumption by a wider audience? Editor: That’s interesting. I hadn't considered the labor involved. Curator: The rapid strokes suggest a fleeting moment captured, a preparatory step in the larger process of historical narrative. Editor: I see it now, it's all connected! Curator: Indeed, from sketch to historical dissemination.