Blank page; verso: Outline of a Head c. 1758

Curator: Fragonard's "Blank page; verso: Outline of a Head," currently residing at the Harvard Art Museums, presents us with a delicate sketch in red chalk. Editor: It feels like a ghost. The almost-not-there quality... is it unfinished, or is it meant to be a whisper of a person? Curator: The very fragility of the medium, the paper itself, speaks to the ephemeral nature of artistic labor. Think about the cost of paper and the time taken to draw something—then simply discard it or leave it unfinished. Editor: And who was this person? A woman? The faint outline suggests a story untold, a life only partially revealed within the restrictive social roles of 18th-century France. Curator: Absolutely. And the verso aspect—the reverse side—makes me consider what this drawing paper was initially meant for, and the many possibilities of material reuse. Editor: It’s a reminder that history is often fragmentary and that our understanding of people is always incomplete. Curator: A fascinating glimpse into the artist's process and the social context of the time. Editor: Precisely. It really prompts us to consider the unseen, both in art and in lived experience.