Sketchbook ("Spain"): Mural Studies for Boston Public Library and Museum of Fine Arts

Curator: Before us is John Singer Sargent’s sketchbook, titled "Spain": Mural Studies for Boston Public Library and Museum of Fine Arts. Editor: It's a simple, worn canvas covering, almost monastic in its austerity. You can nearly smell the dust of the studio. Curator: Indeed! It’s a vessel holding Sargent’s early visions for grand public art. Spain, here, is not just a place, but an idea, a source of inspiration for the themes he would explore. Editor: Thinking about the canvas itself, the weave, the staining...these cheap materials were the backdrop to high-minded artistic ambition. Curator: That's true. It shows the seeds of those ambitious works. Sargent's journey into cultural narratives begins within its pages. Editor: I appreciate seeing the mundane and the ethereal contained by this humble object. Curator: It lets us peek behind the curtain of artistic production. Editor: It does indeed.