Design for a Clock, Title Page to 'Cahier de six Pendules' 1770

Curator: Jean François Forty's "Design for a Clock, Title Page to 'Cahier de six Pendules,'" created around 1770, greets us. It’s an engraving, currently housed here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It strikes me immediately as wonderfully impractical! The sheer ornamentation overwhelms any functional aspect. Those supporting figures seem barely capable of holding the clock face. Curator: It's very much a product of its time, embodying the Rococo style's emphasis on decorative arts and elaborate designs. Think about the intended consumer – likely someone commissioning the design, overseeing its production through various workshops. Editor: Precisely! The craftsmanship inherent in creating the actual clock—the metalwork, the enameling, the clockwork itself—would have been extensive. This was no mere time-telling device but a statement of wealth and patronage. And the division of labor is inherent to its materiality; someone had to cut the matrix for the plate and manually use the press for each print! Curator: Note the geometric forms interwoven with organic motifs. The profile portrait at the center seems to be an exercise in representing an allegorical figure. Its positioning further speaks to the engraver's compositional control. Editor: Indeed, there's a tension between classical order, implied by the geometric shapes, and the dynamism of the Rococo flourish in those decorative flourishes. The visual intricacy served the aspirational function for the patrons who were both familiar with mythological references, and desiring high class goods. Curator: The monochromatic medium adds a certain restraint, almost neoclassical in its simplicity, allowing us to truly appreciate the intricate lines, texture, and forms presented within the depicted scene. It almost acts as a shadow for the actual clocks created! Editor: What a fantastic reminder of how so-called “high art” intersects with artisanal craftsmanship. Thank you for contextualizing it. Curator: A pleasure. It makes one reconsider the labor and materials consumed to satisfy the fashion of a certain time and class!