Schouw met lier 1772 - 1779

Editor: So, here we have "Schouw met lier," which translates to "Mantelpiece with Lyre," a drawing by Jean Pelletier, made sometime between 1772 and 1779. It's currently housed at the Rijksmuseum. It seems so precisely rendered... What stands out to you in this image? Curator: The rendering highlights the materiality of elite domestic life. Consider the labor invested in producing such an object – from the quarrying of the stone to the skilled artisans carving the ornamentation. These chimney pieces were potent status symbols. Who benefited from this material excess, and who labored to produce it? Editor: That's a good point! I hadn't really thought about who was involved in making it beyond the artist. How does that fit with Neoclassicism? Curator: Neoclassicism here functions as a marker of refinement and taste for the patron, while simultaneously masking the complex system of production required to bring it into being. The clean lines and classical motifs present an image of order and reason. Do you think this aesthetic promotes or conceals certain socio-economic realities? Editor: I guess it conceals it to some degree. The engraving presents a sanitized version of reality, almost erasing the human element involved in its production. Curator: Exactly. It speaks volumes about consumption and status through material goods during this period. The paper, the ink, the artisanal skill needed for the engraving... it's a layering of material signifiers of class and cultural capital. What have you noticed through this exchange? Editor: I'm now thinking about the object's entire life cycle, from raw materials to a finished product that signifies wealth and status. It’s fascinating to consider the unseen hands that contributed to its creation. Curator: Indeed, by focusing on the materiality and means of production, we begin to unravel the complex social relations embedded within even the most seemingly simple image.