Sketches from a Bullfight; verso: Designs for Ornament c. 1904

Curator: This is "Sketches from a Bullfight; verso: Designs for Ornament" by John Singer Sargent. Editor: It has such energy, even in these faint pencil lines. You can almost feel the frenetic movement of the bullring. Curator: Indeed. Notice how Sargent captures the dynamism of the scene through rapid, gestural marks. The composition directs our eye through a carefully orchestrated chaos. Editor: It also makes me think about the cost of bullfights, both economically and ethically. What was Sargent trying to say about the spectacle, and the labor of the people involved? Curator: Perhaps he was less interested in social commentary and more captivated by the purely visual spectacle. Editor: Perhaps. Either way, it's a potent reminder of the varied ways we experience and depict cultural events. Curator: A fascinating divergence of form and function.