Design for Three Stools with Columnar Supports 1800 - 1850

This sheet shows a design for three stools with columnar supports, created anonymously using graphite on paper. The repetition here suggests a certain mode of standardized production. We see the image making use of a visual vocabulary drawn from classical architecture – note the fluted columns. This was an era in which ancient forms were being revived to give a sense of historical legitimacy to new institutions. It's interesting to consider what kind of institution these stools were intended for, and how the use of classical forms might have been intended to shape the behavior of the people using that space. Were these for a school, a courthouse, or some other site of civic life? These are the questions the social art historian asks. They involve archival research, and an understanding of period styles. It’s only by understanding the environment that created the art, that we can really appreciate the art itself.