Mary Ann Paton Wood in the Role of Amina in La Sonnambula 1841

Curator: Up next is Thomas Sully's oil on canvas painting from 1841, titled "Mary Ann Paton Wood in the Role of Amina in La Sonnambula". Editor: Oh, she looks absolutely lost in a dream, doesn't she? Such ethereal beauty with this incredibly detailed hair. Curator: Indeed. Sully was renowned for his portraiture and history painting. Here, we see Wood, a celebrated soprano, depicted in character. It’s interesting how academic art conventions are deployed to celebrate a contemporary performer. Think of the labour involved: commissioning, modeling, the performance itself…all tied up in the canvas's physical manifestation. Editor: The whiteness of the dress seems to engulf her, she looks otherworldly. There's a melancholy to her gaze upwards that just gets you. Like she's seeing something we can’t even imagine. Curator: The pose and theatrical setting serve to elevate Wood. Notice the manipulation of the oil paints— how the very materials act to both represent Wood, the historical figure, and Wood the stage performer. These are not naturally occurring images, it's important to remember they required processing, commodification and marketing strategies. Editor: I agree about the construction. And yet, seeing her so serene reminds me that maybe there's room for a touch of romantic escape now and then? That even labor is a kind of dance, perhaps? I feel drawn to those glimpses of dream that evade all structure. Curator: Interesting parallel! What do you think, looking at Sully's composition here—does our close examination change our understanding? Or, if this close looking is a commodified exercise. Editor: Well, I'm not sure I know more facts exactly, but I'm leaving with the sense that her imagined reality has maybe overlapped into mine now too? That I know it and she knows me and its like her song lives again. Curator: Fascinating. Well, thank you for that reflective viewpoint.