Composition Study; verso: Composition Study c. 1758

Editor: This is Fragonard's "Composition Study," made with pen and brown ink. It feels like a flurry of activity, but also very ephemeral. How do you interpret this work? Curator: I see Fragonard experimenting with the very act of production. Look at the rapid, almost frantic, application of ink. It’s not just about the figures or the implied narrative, but about the labor itself, the physical act of creation captured on paper. Where do you see evidence of the artist at work? Editor: I see it in the repeated lines, the corrections, and the way he seems to be searching for the right form. It really shows the process, not just the result. Curator: Exactly. It challenges the notion of art as solely a refined product, highlighting instead the messy, material reality of its making. A valuable learning experience, don't you think?