Seated Nymph and Two Putti 

Editor: Here we have Thomas Stothard's "Seated Nymph and Two Putti," a pen and ink drawing from the Tate Collections. It feels so light and fleeting. What strikes you about it? Curator: Stothard, active during a time of significant social upheaval, often depicted idealized scenes. Note how the nymph evokes classical sculptures, reflecting a desire for order. How does this idealized form function within the context of late 18th-century anxieties about social change, do you think? Editor: So it's less about pure beauty and more about a cultural yearning for stability? I hadn't considered that. Curator: Precisely. It prompts us to question whose "ideal" is being represented and what power dynamics are at play. Food for thought.