Details van een deur van de Salon de musique 1875 - 1930

This print, Details van een deur van de Salon de musique, shows a collection of neo-classical architectural ornament, made by an anonymous artist, and just look at the mark-making! It’s all about line, repetition, and negative space. It’s hard to know exactly what the artist was thinking, but they seem to be working through an idea of the surface. The texture is smooth, the color is monochromatic, and the light is really just a trick of the eye - it’s all about the line and how it carves out the space. Take the harps, for instance: they are built up from a mass of tiny, parallel lines, which create an incredible sense of depth and dimension. They are full of air and light. It reminds me of Piranesi and the way he used etching to create these wild, cavernous architectural fantasies. There's a conversation happening across time, about the nature of space, decoration, and our human desire to fill every void. It’s a world where clarity and mystery dance together.