Stoelen c. 1890

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this drawing titled 'Stoelen' using graphite. At first glance, it's a simple sketch of chairs, but consider what the chair represents socially. Chairs are about status, comfort, and who has the right to rest. Cachet was working in the Netherlands, a society deeply structured by class and colonial power. Was he thinking about the unequal distribution of comfort and privilege? As historians, we look beyond the surface. We ask, what did 'sitting' mean in the Dutch social imagination? Were there debates about who deserved a seat at the table, literally or figuratively? Old newspapers, political cartoons, and furniture design books could reveal the cultural meanings embedded in this seemingly simple drawing. Perhaps, Cachet's sketch invites us to reflect on the power dynamics inherent in everyday objects.