Study for "The Bather" 1851

Editor: This is Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres' "Study for 'The Bather'," a pencil drawing from the 19th century. It looks like a preparatory sketch. What do you see in the process of its creation? Curator: This sketch reveals Ingres's meticulous approach to crafting an image. Consider the paper itself, a commodity of its time, and the labor involved in its production. He’s not just representing figures; he’s engaging with a system of material and production. Editor: So, you're less focused on the idealized figures and more on the physical making? Curator: Precisely! The sketch is a document of artistic labor. How was the graphite sourced, processed, and then applied to the page? Ingres’s art is embedded in a web of material processes and social contexts. Editor: I never thought about a sketch that way. Thanks, I'll remember that!