[title not known] Verso: Individual Figure Sketches 

Curator: This sketch, by John Flaxman, from the Tate Collections, presents us with a series of individual figure studies on a single sheet. The support measures about 189 by 275 millimeters. Editor: There's a ghostliness to it, an ethereal quality evoked by the pale graphite on this thin paper. Curator: Indeed. Flaxman was working during a period of immense social upheaval, and his art often explored themes of justice and human struggle. How might these figures connect to those themes? Editor: Perhaps they are studies for larger works. The interlocking forms seem to be working through gesture and the mechanics of the body in space. The eye is led around the page following those contours. Curator: Considering Flaxman’s abolitionist stance, could we interpret this grouping as a commentary on collective resistance, where individual figures unite? Editor: I see the potential. Though I am hesitant to impose too much given their unfinished state. Curator: Of course, it remains open to interpretation. These sketches, in their rawness, offer us a glimpse into Flaxman’s process and the social conscience informing his work. Editor: Exactly. Seeing the skeleton of his process gives us new insight to his overall practice.