Designs for the Decoration of Firearms 1772 - 1830

Curator: Looking at this drawing, I'm struck by its fragility and sense of suspended animation. It's as if the artist captured a fleeting idea. Editor: This intriguing pencil drawing on paper presents us with "Designs for the Decoration of Firearms," a work attributed to Nicolas Noël Boutet, and dating from 1772 to 1830. We are fortunate to have this at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Curator: Firearms as canvases… That brings up a whole host of issues about power, gender, and who has access to violence, especially in that era of revolutions. And those meticulously rendered animals and figures! Editor: Precisely. Boutet served as the director of the Versailles arms manufactory, and his workshop produced arms for royalty and dignitaries. The inclusion of classical figures, combined with the naturalistic depictions of animals, reflects the visual vocabulary favored by the elite of the time. We can read it in terms of status display. Curator: And considering that many indigenous peoples were dispossessed of their lands through gun violence, this artwork acts as a harsh reminder that fine craftsmanship can mask an ideology of dispossession. Those images also play into specific ideas of nobility, but I’m wondering how those symbols intersected with ideas around control. Editor: These "weapons of distinction," were both tools of power and highly collectible works of art. Understanding Boutet's output as a convergence of artistic skill, industrial production, and political context opens the work to some important dialogues about how art functions in social life. Curator: I think that it opens up fascinating ways to reflect on art’s function to both justify and romanticize some histories of violence. Editor: Indeed. And even within the drawing's seeming celebration of power, there's an undercurrent of critique when viewed from our present. It reminds us of the ongoing need to question the historical narratives perpetuated by cultural institutions and their artifacts. Curator: Well, looking at this design has given me a lot to consider in thinking about art, objecthood, violence, and gender. Editor: Agreed. Thinking about social messages complicates, as well as enhances, an appreciation for the elegance of this piece.