Designs for Two Beds 1565 - 1570

Curator: Here we see Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau's "Designs for Two Beds", made sometime between 1565 and 1570, a Renaissance print now residing at The Met. Editor: How stately! Even in monochrome, these bed designs project authority through geometric composition, clean line, and overall symmetrical organization. Curator: Cerceau worked during a fascinating period of architectural revival, a time where design was increasingly disseminated through prints, shaping tastes and aesthetics beyond the aristocratic elites. Editor: Let’s consider this print through semiotics. Observe how the rigid structure meets flowing ornament: rams’ heads and garlands contrasted against flat planes and tight hatching. The designs evoke monumentality more than sleep itself. Curator: These beds were designed in a society governed by sumptuary laws that often extended into domestic furnishing. It's not only the visual language that is rich, but also the subtle societal implications and restrictions these designs skirt. They demonstrate elite aspiration. Editor: Indeed. Looking at the materiality of the print itself—engraving— the effect allows Cerceau a control over value through closely situated hatching to establish form without chiaroscuro. It's technical excellence at the service of projecting an aristocratic lifestyle. Curator: And the Italian Renaissance fixation with the classical antiquity motifs such as acanthus scrolls speaks volumes, recontextualizing visual symbols of power for the emerging Renaissance elites. It creates lineage and reinforces dominance. Editor: Ultimately, by framing them with mythological creatures, each element combines to enhance the beds from mere furnishings to grand statement pieces, reinforcing status through controlled pattern and design. Curator: Considering that context only deepens my appreciation. We get a glimpse of a desire to project influence through even private domestic spheres. Editor: Absolutely. The print’s meticulous execution coupled with our modern historical lens gives one quite a complete, multi-layered look into a past that once considered even sleeping as a part of staging their legacy.