Venster met gordijnen c. 1895 - 1910

This ornate window with curtains, created by Léon Laroche, is a wash of blues, pinks, and golds; it is reminiscent of an architectural model or a stage set design. I wonder what Laroche was thinking when he made this. Was he just trying to sell some swanky curtains, or was he also dreaming about what's on the other side of that glass? I get the feeling he was playing with ideas about inside and outside, surface and depth. The trim is dripping with gold, the silk drapes are pulled to reveal a portal, and the glass hints at infinite other worlds beyond our reach. The surface is so flat, yet the image is all about depth. The way the curtain folds soften the rigid architectural elements is lovely. It reminds me of the way Guston used to draw bricks – always pushing and pulling between abstraction and representation. There’s a sense of humor here, too – a kind of sly wink suggesting the artist’s embrace of ambiguity and uncertainty.