Turbaned Head; verso: Draped Female Nude c. 19th century

Editor: Here we have Edward Burne-Jones' pencil sketch, "Turbaned Head." It's a small work, almost intimate, but the subject feels so classical and timeless. What do you see in it? Curator: The turban immediately positions the figure within a specific cultural context, or rather, a Western perception of one. Burne-Jones, like many artists of his time, was fascinated by the "Orient," but how much of this fascination was truly about understanding other cultures, and how much was about projecting Western fantasies? Editor: That's a good point. I hadn't considered the Western gaze aspect. Curator: Consider, too, the "Draped Female Nude" on the verso. How might these two images engage in a dialogue about representation and the male gaze within the artistic conventions of the period? Editor: Wow, I didn’t even know there was another drawing on the back! Now I’m thinking about how the museum displays this, and whose perspectives are centered. Curator: Precisely. Art isn't just about the image itself; it's about the whole framework that shapes how we see it.