Seated Angel with Sword for "Israel and the Law," Boston Public Library 1895 - 1916

Editor: Here we have John Singer Sargent's sketch, *Seated Angel with Sword for "Israel and the Law," Boston Public Library.* It feels so raw and immediate, you can almost see the charcoal dust. How do you read the materiality of this piece? Curator: I read this sketch through its function. It reveals the labor involved in creating the larger mural. Sargent's rapid charcoal strokes were a means to an end, a step in the industrial-scale production of art for public consumption. Editor: Industrial-scale? I hadn't thought of it that way. Curator: Absolutely. This sketch isn't precious. It's a tool. Consider the economics: Sargent was paid for a monumental work, and this sketch is a byproduct of that transaction. It highlights the societal consumption of art. Editor: So, even a sketch carries the weight of production? Curator: Precisely. The sketch, the mural, the commission – it's all part of the same material and economic web. Editor: That's a fascinating perspective; I'll definitely look at sketches differently now.