Venster met gordijnen after 1878

This print, "Venster met gordijnen," meaning "Window with curtains," was made anonymously, likely in France, as part of a furniture maker's catalogue. The artist used lithography, a printmaking technique, to translate fabric into reproducible imagery. Take a close look at the blue curtains. They are adorned with delicate lace, tassels, and heavy rope. The textiles suggest opulence, but also point to the labor that went into their making, and that of the print itself. Consider the weavers, dyers, and lacemakers involved, and then the draftsmen, printers, and publishers who distributed the image widely. Prints such as this one were powerful tools of mass consumption, whetting the appetites of a growing middle class. By blurring the lines between art, craft, and commerce, they remind us that even the most decorative objects have a deeper social context.