Sketches of Male Profiles, Couple Embracing n.d.

Curator: This fascinating sheet of studies is titled "Sketches of Male Profiles, Couple Embracing," attributed to Thomas Stothard. It's an undated work held here at the Art Institute of Chicago, executed in graphite, likely pencil, on paper. Editor: There’s something haunting about it. All those faces in profile, gazing into the distance… It feels like a study in melancholy, almost a lament. Curator: Absolutely. Considering Stothard’s likely reliance on readily available graphite and paper, it underscores the democratization of artistic creation in his era, moving away from costlier materials. We also see the use of accessible printmaking, reflecting growing industries. Editor: But what about the imagery itself? Profiles, of course, historically signified power, especially on coins and in portraiture. Here, though, they’re vulnerable, exposed. The embracing couple at the top... do they represent comfort, loss, a romanticized past? Curator: The contrast in linework interests me – very precise outlines adjacent to looser sketching suggests that perhaps this sheet held many purposes for the artist within the studio, a valuable resource for his shop's work. Editor: It speaks to the duality inherent in Stothard’s work, a negotiation between accessible imagery and enduring symbolic weight. This speaks to an artist attempting to explore and reflect profound emotion during times of political turbulence in Europe. Curator: That blend of accessibility and complexity shaped not only Stothard’s production, but his reception among wider audiences; considering how the studio functioned gives more insight than attributing a unique "meaning". The studio practices also influenced later workshops by apprentices. Editor: True, by focusing on the repeated symbols and figures in the history of art, we begin to appreciate the deep and intricate web of visual language. It makes one reflect on shared experiences in the collective subconscious, particularly what we might associate the face with –identity, memory, presence. Curator: Analyzing the medium and process allows us to re-evaluate that relationship, revealing new details about labor practices within 18th-19th century commercial studios. Editor: I’ll never see pencil sketches in quite the same light again! Curator: And, hopefully, you'll continue to question established meanings about what these sketches represent, and perhaps reconsider our conventional focus on artistic meaning!