Page from a Scrapbook containing Drawings and Several Prints of Architecture, Interiors, Furniture and Other Objects 1795 - 1805

Curator: I must say, there's a certain austere beauty in the crisp lines of this page from a scrapbook, circa 1795-1805, put together by Charles Percier. You can find it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Editor: It feels cold, almost sterile. The top section, like a ghostly palimpsest, and the rigid architectural prints… Are we looking at a floor plan? My immediate feeling is disconnected and strangely impersonal, more blueprint than artwork. Curator: You know, that's funny, because to me, this scrapbook page resonates with potential and longing. I mean, look closely—you have various architectural drawings and prints detailing interiors, furniture, all rendered meticulously with pencil. It's almost like catching a glimpse into Percier’s own aspirational design world. Editor: Yes, but observe how Percier subordinates emotional expression to rationality in his structured architectural drawings. Semiotically, the straight lines suggest order; the muted palette emphasizes intellect over sentimentality. The visual language adheres strictly to neoclassical tenets, where feeling takes a back seat to form. Curator: Fair point. We definitely see how Neoclassicism is expressed through this artwork—an attention to rationality, clarity, order… still, that layout! A full page above devoted to paper, almost untouched save for an age-old crack running through it; and then a rigorous set of blueprints. The opposition creates such interesting tension. Editor: True, the bipartite arrangement does present a curious problem of spatial relationships. The blank page, perhaps representing unrealized possibilities or simply left incomplete, contrasts significantly with the determined geometry of the architectural plans. I suspect a semiotic analysis of the blank page might reveal latent conceptual ideas concerning negative space as form. Curator: Ooo, so, if we dive into pure speculation then… it is almost as though Percier is inviting us to write our stories and fantasies on that page? As though there’s a certain beauty in an unfinished idea. To leave room for infinite dreams— perhaps as infinite as buildings one day created from those skeletal blueprints? Editor: Perhaps. From my standpoint, this artwork reflects the Neoclassical prioritization of objective representation, inviting us to understand the cultural values inherent in aesthetic structure—as stark and emotionally unavailable as I might perceive it to be. Curator: Ultimately, the interplay between the tangible prints and the empty space becomes very personal, inviting us to inhabit the moment between design and the vast, blank potentiality of reality. It resonates, albeit coldly, if you’ll let it!