Venster met gordijnen c. 1885 - 1895

Curator: Here we have "Venster met gordijnen" or "Window with Curtains," created by Léon Laroche around 1885 to 1895. It looks like a print. What’s your initial take on it? Editor: Opulence! And a little… fussy. Those heavily draped curtains, that ornate valance… It's begging for attention, isn’t it? It reminds me a bit of theatre set design, maybe? Curator: That's interesting. Given its place as a design print in "Le Garde-Meuble", I see this less as a mere drawing, more as a sign of social status materialized. Look at the proposed excess fabric, the detailed trimmings, gold accents – these are material markers intended to communicate prestige. Editor: Precisely, and there's such labor tied up in these elements. It takes considerable skill, time, and resources to produce something so outwardly focused on lavish presentation. Who is this show for exactly? It speaks of a world detached from practical concerns. Curator: Indeed, although such focus on "luxury" as wasteful isn’t new – think Veblen, Baudrillard even. Yet these “unnecessary” elements are loaded with intent; it's like these textiles shout, "I can afford all this!". But what if that exuberance is its own sort of liberation or experiment with forms? Editor: Maybe. I am curious about what kinds of industry facilitated all of this "ornamentation" and who worked to make that material wealth so readily visible in home spaces like this one? Curator: These kinds of mass publications would have been a clever way to get the designs out, right? Someone sees it in a periodical, gets the local upholsterer working and voila! A splash of Parisian style at home. Editor: That’s a good point about distribution networks, and who exactly the audience was. Were these guides accessible to middle class individuals, or intended more for designers? That, for me, dictates whether this is aspiration or actual lived environment. Curator: Absolutely. Thinking about Laroche’s “Window with Curtains,” I now feel the ghost of so many decisions and negotiations, all contained within its elegant, static frame. It feels less like just an image and more like a blueprint for something...more. Editor: Yes. It almost has me contemplating my own windows. Who decides what dressings and ornaments adorn such thresholds in a home? Food for thought, indeed!