Settee 1936

John Dieterich made this drawing of a Settee using graphite and watercolor, but the date is unknown. The artifact this drawing depicts would have been a status symbol, a demonstration of wealth and taste within a specific social class. Looking closely, we see visual cues associating this settee with the styles of 18th-century Europe, maybe England, and later copied in America. These cultural references spoke to the aspirations of certain classes, those that valued tradition, order, and luxury. The settee is not just a piece of furniture; it's a signifier of cultural capital. As an art historian, I might delve into auction catalogs, estate inventories, and design books from the 18th and 19th centuries. These resources can tell us about the original contexts and meanings of objects like these and also about the ways taste changed over time. Understanding art requires an awareness of these shifts in social and institutional contexts.