Kroonlijst van schoorsteenmantel met plan c. 1866 - 1900

Pierre Dens, a Belgian architect, made this design drawing of a mantelpiece sometime in the 19th century. It's a lithograph, meaning it was drawn with a waxy crayon onto a flat stone, and then printed. The drawing details an elaborate neo-classical design, complete with a reclining figure and a carved medallion. It shows the amount of careful labor involved in creating such an object, all the way from quarrying the stone to carving the details and installing it. The design also shows how the fireplace became a place to express status. The mantel is a frame for a fire, but also a frame for a representation of wealth. Dens was thinking about the social theater of the home. While we often think of architecture as just providing shelter, drawings like this remind us that it's also about creating an environment for social life. And of course, drawings like this are where all making begins.