Meubelen 1875 - 1903

This print by Jan de Haan, titled "Meubelen," presents an array of household furnishings with their Neoclassical motifs, which served as emblems of domesticity, order, and taste. The prominent placement of urns atop pedestals draws heavily from antiquity, evoking associations with memorial art. Urns appear throughout history, from ancient Greek funerary practices to Renaissance garden designs, each time serving as a vanitas symbol, reminding us of life's transience. The bedsheet with a vase of flowers makes me think of similar imagery of the ‘sleeping Ariadne,’ where a forgotten, sleeping woman holds a parallel with the abandonment of an object or idea. This cultural continuity underscores the symbolic and psychological power embedded within the visual language of domestic objects. As we see, these forms are not simply aesthetic choices but carry within them centuries of cultural memory. This enduring motif acts as a non-linear progression; it resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings in different historical contexts.