Boxers, and Studies of a Head in Profile 

Curator: This is John Linnell’s work, "Boxers, and Studies of a Head in Profile," currently residing here at the Tate Collections. Editor: It's a spirited little sketch! The frantic lines really convey the energy of a boxing match. Curator: Indeed. Linnell, active in the 19th century, often sketched figures to prepare for larger paintings. These glimpses into athletic culture reflect a growing public fascination. Editor: Look at the economy of line! The artist captures the thrust and parry with the barest suggestion of form. The profile studies above add a sense of observation, of learning the human form. Curator: Boxing in Linnell's era was very different from today; it was often a working-class spectacle associated with gambling and masculine ideals. Editor: It feels incredibly modern in its abstraction. Curator: Yes. It reveals an impulse to document the everyday dramas unfolding around him, not just landscapes and religious scenes. Editor: There is the immediacy to the image. Thanks for offering such an interesting historical context!