Ornament Design with Three Nymphs 1800 - 1900

This ornament design with three nymphs was made by an anonymous artist using pen and brown ink with gray wash over graphite on paper. The detailed ornamentation and use of traditional art materials reflect the traditions of academic art. But let's think about what this drawing represents: the design for an object, perhaps destined to be wrought in silver or cast in bronze. This act of designing, of translating an image into material form, is critical to the history of decorative arts. The artist likely used graphite for preliminary sketches, then layered ink and wash for depth and shadow. The linear precision suggests a trained hand, accustomed to translating ideas into tangible forms. Consider the labor involved in realizing this design. Artisans would have painstakingly transferred this drawing onto a three-dimensional object, requiring time and great skill. Ornament like this, however frivolous it may appear, depended upon the labor of many. The drawing, then, is just the tip of the iceberg. By understanding its material and making, we recognize how much more there is to see.