Twee canapés en stoel 1895

Editor: So, here we have a print from 1895 by Léon Laroche entitled "Twee canapés en stoel", using ink and watercolour on paper. What strikes me is its simple, almost clinical presentation, like a page from a furniture catalogue. What do you see in it? Curator: Oh, it's delicious, isn't it? Not just furniture, but a frozen moment of aspiration. Think of the world Laroche inhabited! Perhaps he walked along the Seine, dreaming of the day his own furniture would have this kind of understated elegance, that faded glory...I feel it has to have the essence of Louis XVI whispering into your dreams! And you, dear student, are you captured by the light blue? Editor: I do like the faded light blue; it evokes a certain calm and serenity. Was this a common colour choice for furniture then? Curator: I imagine in some aristocratic circles, absolutely. Although, here it's not merely about historical accuracy, is it? It's about invoking a past grandeur, even if through a slightly melancholic filter. Almost like those faded photographs of distant relatives you find tucked away in old books. What secrets, I wonder, do these sofas hold? Editor: It’s interesting to consider the potential narrative implied within such an understated image. Perhaps it's not about the grand salons, but quiet moments of reflection within them? Curator: Precisely! Perhaps this drawing invites us to contemplate the lives lived *within* these meticulously designed spaces. Did someone plot their romantic life on them?! Perhaps it wants to spark a little dream within ourselves… Editor: This has given me a lot to think about, seeing this artwork through the lens of aspiration and untold stories changes everything. Curator: Indeed. That little jolt is what art does to us at its very best, I suspect.