Venster met gordijnen after 1878

Curator: Alright, let's delve into "Venster met gordijnen," or "Window with Curtains," a watercolor and pencil drawing, dating from after 1878. We don’t know who created it, but someone with a real flair for the dramatic! Editor: My initial impression? It feels like a stage curtain, just before the show begins. Ooh, there is that one parted section... is that door the entry for our star? There is a certain hush, like holding your breath waiting for the first line. Curator: Precisely! What's fascinating is how this decorative art piece speaks to the burgeoning interest in interior design and the theatricality of domestic space. The image was circulated as a retail display piece; “Le Magasin de Meubles," which translates to “The Furniture Store,” is emblazoned at the top of the page. It depicts the Gothic style "portières belqiques" or "Belgian curtains." These were designed by E. Quellet and produced and sold in Paris, according to the etching in the margin. Editor: You can really see it as advertising, a dream of elegance offered to shoppers. It plays with textures wonderfully—the heavy drapes against what I imagine would be the cool smoothness of the plastered door frame. It also plays into the escapism that was happening when the Industrial Revolution steamrolled Europe. Curator: It's interesting you mention "escapism," because the Gothic style certainly evoked a romanticized past. What seems really forward thinking about this piece is the choice to display domestic furnishings using fine art media, rather than solely relying on commercial engravings. It elevates the status of the domestic realm, positioning the purchase of furniture as an artistic endeavor. The question remains as to who was considered as the "viewer" or intended recipient of the aesthetic message presented in this design drawing. Editor: Right! I guess seeing something like this offers a sense of history, too, or maybe creates the illusion of history. It feels like it says something about status and maybe an ideal version of oneself in relation to their domestic life. So meta for being a sales pamphlet! It invites dreams of another kind of life that one could buy themselves into with money. Curator: Indeed. In its quiet, carefully rendered stillness, the artwork reveals aspirations and anxieties of a society undergoing rapid transformation. A pretty complicated notion captured within a design on paper... Editor: Complicated notions, or at least an enticing suggestion. I'll never look at my curtains the same way.