Design for a Wine Fountain 1770 - 1816

Curator: What a find! Here we have a neoclassical design study entitled "Design for a Wine Fountain" from around 1770-1816, currently residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The artwork is attributed to Henri Auguste, rendered in drawing and print. Editor: My first thought? It feels…aspirational. Grandiose. Like something you'd see in a dream of Versailles after one too many glasses of Sancerre. Curator: Indeed! Neoclassicism revived the aesthetics of antiquity, evoking virtues like order, reason, and harmony through geometric forms and symmetry. Editor: True, those repeating motifs have a certain…regimented elegance. Like visual mantras echoing the virtues of that era. Although the wine aspect feels slightly rebellious against all that "order and reason." A controlled bacchanal, perhaps? Curator: Exactly! The symbolic confluence is fascinating: the rational architecture playing host to something inherently hedonistic, yet carefully designed, elevated almost, which reminds me that water features and fountain designs have always served more than just utilitarian purposes in the architectural canon; it’s almost like the architect wanted to contain all its potential chaos. Editor: It's funny, though. While the piece attempts that rigidness, I see a fragile elegance. The precision of line reminds me of the ephemeral nature of a dream itself. One wrong splash of ink, and that vision of grandeur is lost. Curator: Well articulated. In some contexts, the presence of wine symbolized not just earthly pleasure, but also transformative or ceremonial communion. So perhaps it’s not about "chaos", but rather how human endeavors often aspire towards the eternal—yet ultimately succumb to temporality and change. Editor: Ah, I love how this work, at first so fixed and certain, becomes something more poignant and flowing. And, perhaps, the true pleasure lies in the fleeting, imperfect moments… or glasses. Curator: Very insightful! It appears that in wrestling with control and aspiration, it allows us to perceive those complex tensions within ourselves. Editor: So much from a "simple" sketch! I’ll definitely raise a glass of something tasty to Monsieur Auguste next chance I get!