Three Round Table Designs 1565 - 1570

Editor: Here we have "Three Round Table Designs," an engraving by Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau from the late 16th century. I'm struck by how different each table is, almost like a lineup of personalities. What stands out to you when you look at this print? Curator: Oh, darling, it’s the *fantasy*! It’s less about furniture and more about dreams given form, don't you think? These aren't just tables; they're theatrical stages for feasts and courtly intrigue. The Renaissance was obsessed with ornament, a dizzying, spiraling sort of beauty. I see a wild embrace of the grotesque! Are those little snarling faces carved into the legs of the bottom table? Almost intimidating. Editor: They do seem a bit fierce! So, it’s like the designs are reflecting more than just function. Curator: Precisely! It is the sheer exuberance and confidence of the age distilled onto paper. Look at the layers and textures Du Cerceau manages to coax out of the engraving. Imagine those tables laden with fruit, sweetmeats and flagons of wine. Don't you feel a slight pinch of longing for a banquet of our own? Editor: Absolutely. Now I see it less as furniture and more as… performance, almost? Thanks, I’ll never look at a table the same way! Curator: Wonderful! Now go, set a stage yourself! Let’s make *every* space a dreamspace.