Dressing Glass 1740 - 1760

Editor: So, here we have a “Dressing Glass” from somewhere between 1740 and 1760. It’s currently at the Art Institute of Chicago, but was made anonymously, and primarily using wood. It feels austere, almost imposing, in a quiet way. What leaps out at you when you look at it? Curator: Austere, yes, that’s a lovely word for it! To me, it feels almost like a portal, a darkened looking glass to the past. I imagine someone peering into this mirror two-and-a-half centuries ago, their face illuminated by candlelight, preparing for a ball perhaps, or something more… private. Does the dark wood speak to you of elegance, or something else? Editor: I guess elegance, in a somber sort of way? I’m wondering about the symmetry. It’s so carefully constructed, those little finials at the top, the arrangement of the drawers… What does that rigid symmetry say about the period? Curator: Ah, the period! The mid-18th century was all about order, proportion, balance… the Enlightenment ideals seeping into everyday objects. Even a simple dressing glass becomes a statement, a miniature temple to reason. I like to think the artist, even working anonymously, was channeling this desire for structure, crafting a piece that reflects not just our faces, but the very soul of the age. You find it somber, perhaps they found comfort in such formal certainty? Editor: That’s fascinating, that everyday objects reflected the philosophies of the day. I guess I hadn’t thought of furniture as a carrier of ideas like that! Curator: Well, isn't that the wonder of it all? Art hides in the most unassuming places! Now I wonder who looked into it through the years…