Sketch for ‘Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy’ 1828

Curator: John Varley, active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, is the artist behind this pencil sketch, ‘Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy.’ Editor: There's an almost haunting quality in its delicate, unfinished lines. It gives me the impression that this sketch was made by hand in candlelight. Curator: Consider that physiognomy, then a popular pseudo-science, attempted to link physical traits to character. Varley sought to illustrate this concept. Editor: So it's all about visual classification, right? Thinking of the paper itself, the texture tells a story of its own production and availability. Curator: And the paper's materiality dictates the nature of the drawing. It served the societal fascination with categorizing individuals through art. Editor: Yes, so the meaning isn't just in the image, but in the whole system that allowed this study to arise. Curator: Precisely, and understanding that system enriches our view. Editor: Indeed. A sketch isn't just an image, it's an artifact of labor and ideology.