Study of Hands Clasped Around a Knee 19th-20th century

Curator: This is John Singer Sargent's Study of Hands Clasped Around a Knee, currently housed in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s so delicate! I feel like I'm peering into someone's private moment, a quiet introspection. Curator: Sargent was celebrated for capturing the essence of his subjects, often within elite circles. This drawing, though, feels rawer, like a quick observation. Editor: The stark simplicity heightens the intimacy, don't you think? It's just lines, but they convey so much tension and tenderness. Curator: Yes, and Sargent's choices about what to show, and what to leave out, tell us much about the gaze he brought to his art. Editor: It makes you consider what stories those hands could tell, and the kind of weight they've carried over time. Curator: Exactly, and how that weight gets filtered through Sargent's unique artistic lens. Editor: A tiny sketch, a whole world contained.