Vaas met blauwe lusterglazuur c. 1915

Editor: This is "Vaas met blauwe lusterglazuur," a ceramic vase with a blue luster glaze made around 1915 by St. Lukas in the Art Nouveau style. The shimmery effect is pretty captivating. What's your take on this piece? Curator: It's like catching moonlight in a vessel, isn’t it? That iridescent glaze whispers secrets of alchemic experiments – trials to mimic the shimmering beauty found in nature. St. Lukas, most likely under the spell of the Art Nouveau movement, clearly sought to elevate a functional object into something purely poetic, maybe even otherworldly. What kind of stories do you think it might hold? Editor: I didn't really consider the artistry, but now that you point that out, the reflection sort of reminds me of a still lake reflecting the sky and surrounding trees. Curator: Precisely. See how the smooth curves seem almost to breathe? That reflects the organic forms central to Art Nouveau, mirroring nature's elegant rhythms and perhaps its impermanence. And that glaze, oh, the glaze – it almost makes the object alive and changing, as you pointed out. One could almost say that it’s capturing something timeless. But how do you reconcile that objective with what seems like, frankly, very contemporary colors? Editor: That's interesting to think about. Now, I kind of feel like this vase is looking towards both the past and the future! Thanks, that makes more sense than my initial reading! Curator: The conversation between craftsmanship and artistry is where the real magic happens, don't you think?