Twee bureaus in de Hendrik II-stijl before 1904

This work shows two bureaus in the Hendrik II-style, but the artist is unknown, so maybe we can imagine it was you or me! The upper desk is an exercise in shadow, a sophisticated charcoal scheme with a dark red tabletop. The artist knew that color can be quiet and still feel rich. And then the lower one, a completely different proposition! Here, the artist explores how to make wood feel light. There’s a playful symmetry to the desks, but it’s not exact. Each leg is slightly different. The artist knows it’s these little imperfections that make it interesting. I imagine the artist was thinking about what makes a desk a desk? And how can you capture not just its shape, but its essence? After all, artists are in an ongoing conversation, a chain of call and response across time. We are inspired by one another, and each new work builds upon the last. The image is not a perfect picture of a desk but a meditation on the idea of a desk.