Bearded Man in a Toga (from Sketchbook) 1835 - 1839

Editor: This drawing, "Bearded Man in a Toga," by Francis William Edmonds, created sometime between 1835 and 1839, is primarily done in pencil and charcoal. It’s captivating how raw and immediate it feels, despite its historical context. What stands out to you? Curator: The roughness, the clear mark-making…it speaks volumes about the artistic process during that period. Romanticism valued emotion, but how was that emotion produced, materially? Look at the varied pressure of the pencil, the blending of charcoal – decisions driven by the cost and availability of materials as much as any “inspiration”. Do you think the final work aimed to conceal the labor that went into it? Editor: That's a really interesting way to put it. I suppose in a way it does mask the labor through an illusion of naturalness? It’s intended to portray emotion not process, right? Curator: Precisely, and the material reality – the price of quality charcoal, the paper itself, all resources potentially connected to exploitative industries – recedes. Yet, the drawing *is* charcoal, *is* paper. Understanding the means of its production reveals a network of social and economic forces inherent in even the most seemingly personal artistic expression. Can we really divorce Romantic ideals from the very material realities that facilitated them? Editor: So by understanding what went into making it, we can understand the conditions that shaped its message? That gives the work a whole other layer. Thank you for the insight. Curator: My pleasure! It’s about asking ourselves: who had access to these materials? Whose labor was involved in creating them? It profoundly shifts our understanding of not only the drawing but the world in which it was created.