Study for Doctor's Commons, from Microcosm of London c. 1808

Curator: Well, isn't this drawing a fascinating peek into a bygone era? This is Augustus Charles Pugin's "Study for Doctor's Commons, from Microcosm of London," dating back to around 1808. It’s crafted with pencil, ink, and etching on paper. The Art Institute of Chicago is lucky to have it! Editor: My initial thought? It’s incredibly ethereal. All those pencil lines give it a ghost-like quality. It feels more like a memory being sketched than a solid, grounded scene. Curator: That’s an interesting take. As a preparatory study, it's interesting how Pugin provides this kind of… almost bird's eye perspective? Giving a feeling for the architecture as well as an overall understanding for how individuals participate within such spaces of power and order. The Microcosm of London project aimed to visually document the city's important institutions and social scenes. Editor: Institutions and order... hmm. All those faces up on the dais... I find myself wondering who they are and who they *think* they are. Are they dispensing justice or just more law? Do you think this room really feels like justice or just, y'know, old stone? It also kind of hints at what being an insider and outsider looks like here. The people below versus the authorities above. It seems as relevant now as ever, I suppose. Curator: The Doctor’s Commons, you see, was where ecclesiastical and admiralty law were practiced. The people present likely included judges, lawyers, and those seeking legal counsel. Consider that legal proceedings at the time were deeply entwined with social status and power dynamics. How fascinating it must've been for everyday folk observing the complexities and occasional arbitrariness of justice! Editor: A scene rife with judgment... you can practically feel the air thick with unspoken decisions. Like someone holding their breath before a verdict, suspended in the anxiety of awaiting something... it certainly is ripe with those anxieties we still know today! Makes me wonder about the stories hidden in plain sight! Curator: Indeed. This sketch, through its architectural details and its careful observation of figures within, lets us explore not just London’s physical landscape, but also its socio-political arteries. I find it marvelous! Editor: Yeah, after that perspective, you got me feeling rather melancholic reflecting on those social inequities—still such fertile and active ground. All from one peek into the past!