Sketch of a Metope Sculpture 19th-20th century

Curator: This small sketch, roughly 9 by 11 centimeters, is John Singer Sargent’s “Sketch of a Metope Sculpture,” housed right here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Immediately, I sense a struggle—the figure is contorted, almost defeated. The rough lines amplify that feeling. Curator: Sargent, known for his portraits, was clearly captivated by classical sculpture. Metopes, you might recall, often depicted scenes of battle and myth, embodying heroic struggle. Editor: Yes! It’s as if the sculpture itself is wrestling with something internal, a universal human condition perhaps. And in Sargent’s translation, the metope seems so vulnerable, personal. Curator: Consider too, the missing head, a common feature on ancient relics but also a potent symbol of lost identity, of stories fragmented across time. Editor: Seeing it this way, it seems so much more than just a sketch. More like an unearthed emotion. Curator: Exactly. Sargent allows the past to breathe into the present. Editor: Indeed, it's a potent reminder of how history can be both grand and deeply intimate.