Architecture : décoration des corniches, à divers époques 1878

Curator: Let's look at this fascinating piece, "Architecture: décoration des corniches, à divers époques" from 1878, by Émile Prisse d'Avennes. It's a watercolor and drawing showing different Egyptian cornice designs. Editor: My first impression? Regal, organized, yet also somehow playful. The colors are gentle, and the patterns remind me of ancient board games, or perhaps architectural plans for cats to climb. Curator: Cats, you say? I think of the skill it took to build such designs. The artist isn't just rendering ancient Egyptian art but showing its geometry. You know, how did they get that curve perfect in the days of ramps and manpower? It would have involved calculations we don't give credit for. Editor: I suppose the execution here hints at a kind of collaborative effort too, with generations of skilled labor being necessary. Think about how they sourced materials, shaped, and transported stone across vast distances, without all the modern technology we have today. Were some artisans enslaved? And where did the artist obtain the colors from? It makes you appreciate what went into producing one cornice. Curator: Indeed. There's an intentional selection of elements and how it uses its source imagery as part of 19th-century visual culture— how this knowledge informed designs, the aesthetics. So this artwork serves to decode that process for us. Editor: In some ways, these cornices also speak about eternity. About wanting to leave a lasting impact, perhaps an almost arrogant assurance in civilization's timelessness and continuity. I wonder if anyone will be sketching *our* cornices in a thousand years. Curator: Hopefully not strip mall ones, anyway. Overall, this architectural visualization holds remarkable craft while making you appreciate Egyptian ingenuity while understanding this modern rendering. Editor: It makes me want to reach out and trace these geometric designs. I'm left with a real sense of craftsmanship from two distinct eras.