Ontwerp voor een Prijscourant van een fotografisch atelier 1901 - 1902

Curator: This is a drawing titled "Ontwerp voor een Prijscourant van een fotografisch atelier," or "Design for a Price List of a Photographic Studio," dating from 1901-1902, by Ernst Maximilian Büttinghausen. It combines ink and print on paper. Editor: What strikes me immediately is how much it resembles something etched rather than drawn. The paper itself seems like another tool contributing to the overall impression of something very fragile. Curator: Indeed. The design, heavily influenced by Art Nouveau, displays an intricate framework with decorative figures flanking the "Prijscourant" title, all exhibiting line work typical of that style. Look at how those cherubic figures uphold symbols of creation—what stories might those implements tell? Editor: Right, it's really laying bare the production, or promising transparency. The piece itself functions as advertising but through the lens of a delicate craftsmanship. The very materiality of the price list – its reliance on the handmade aesthetic despite being designed for mass communication – seems intentionally contradictory. What do you make of the faint numerical lists inside this decorated border? Curator: These numerals are like codes, hints that require deciphering of artistic symbolism as much as they inform about studio costs. It blends practicality and aesthetic intent. Observe how the geometric design also introduces formal symmetry and balance. Editor: It's as if Bütthinghausen seeks to ennoble the studio's labor by cloaking it in this refined artistry. To see commerce made precious. Curator: It presents an interesting dynamic; a reflection of its era perhaps. A commercial tool elevated via sophisticated artistic structure. Editor: It reveals a complex tension within the commercial world during a pivotal period. Curator: A unique intersection of utility and artistic sensibility worth pondering. Editor: And definitely something that inspires questions about artistic integrity.