Panelen 1772 - 1779

Curator: What a strikingly sparse composition! It gives me the feeling of entering an unrealized, nascent space. Editor: Indeed. This print, called "Panelen," or "Panels," was conceived by Jean Pelletier between 1772 and 1779. Executed as a drawing, engraving, and print on paper, this architectural study embodies Rococo design through line and form. Curator: The symmetry, or rather the expectation of symmetry slightly disrupted by asymmetrical flourishes, is very engaging. What might be the underlying story behind this visual? Editor: In this era, paneling signified not just design but a statement of wealth and class. Walls, newly adorned and decorated with art, shifted away from their fundamental structural identity. Decoration becomes privilege and performance. The clean lines represent the rationalist Enlightenment, a period wrestling with inherited Baroque excess. Curator: Yes, the crisp engraving lends itself well to communicating that idea. And the composition of the work itself follows a certain logic, creating a pattern and a sort of spatial rhythm. Yet, at the center we see that hint of a curve – almost like an organic form trying to push through this constructed order. Editor: Precisely. Consider the labor and resources needed to produce paneled walls, reflective of broader social stratifications in prerevolutionary Europe. Each element contributes to a hierarchy where design mirrors societal power dynamics, raising important discussions on class, luxury, and the built environment's capacity to uphold inequalities. Curator: It serves as a testament to humanity's enduring drive to not simply inhabit a space, but also to alter and imbue it with meaning, projecting desires, social status, and memories into the very fabric of our surroundings. Editor: Agreed. "Panelen," while ostensibly a simple design for a wall, unlocks essential understandings about society and architectural aspirations of the time, creating complex meanings we still grapple with.