Sketchbook page c. 1776

Editor: This is a sketchbook page by Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin, located at the Harvard Art Museums. It shows a woman and a man reclining. What do you see in this drawing? Curator: I see a snapshot of 18th-century power dynamics. The woman is upright, adorned, while the man reclines, seemingly in supplication. Do you see how her posture, even in a sketch, asserts a certain dominance? Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't considered their postures in relation to power. Curator: Saint-Aubin was capturing a moment, perhaps a critique, of the rigid social structures. It's a silent commentary on gender and class. Editor: So, it's more than just a casual drawing? Curator: Exactly. It's a window into the complex social ballet of the time. I wonder what their relationship is? Editor: I'll definitely look at eighteenth-century art with new eyes now. Curator: And hopefully, question the power structures that continue to influence our own society.