Plafond met leeg middenstuk 1712

Editor: So, here we have Daniël Marot's "Plafond met leeg middenstuk" from 1712, a Baroque ceiling design rendered as an engraving. The sheer intricacy of the linework is captivating! What do you see when you look at this? Curator: I see the production of status. Consider the engraver's labor to reproduce such an elaborate design. This wasn’t about pure artistry, but about disseminating an aesthetic of aristocratic power and luxury. Look at the use of printmaking, an accessible technology, to emulate and proliferate the visual language of wealth. Editor: That’s interesting, the accessibility of printmaking contrasts with the opulence of the design. Curator: Precisely. This print makes aspirational consumption easier for the aspiring bourgeois. Think about the workshop that produced this. What kinds of skilled artisans and what type of tools are required? This image isn’t just about a ceiling; it's a commodity, produced and distributed to shape desires. Editor: It’s almost like a flattened blueprint, ready for replication by other craftsmen. Are the materials and techniques implied here – the plasterwork, the gilding – as important as the design itself? Curator: Absolutely. This print facilitates and standardizes the labour and materials needed to build it; a whole social process is encompassed within these lines. What implications do you think the Baroque style has when considering material consumption? Editor: Well, thinking about consumption and materiality, Baroque screams excess, an abundance of ornament and expensive materials. Curator: And who benefits from this consumption? This print reveals how design mediates economic and social relationships. It transforms skilled labor into an aesthetic commodity. I never thought of it that way before; it offers such an accessible entrance into considerations of the material reality of the Baroque.