Boogvenster en gotische trap met beeld van een engel 1826 - 1867

Franciscus Andreas Durlet created this small print, "Boogvenster en gotische trap met beeld van een engel", using etching techniques. Durlet was working in Belgium during a period of burgeoning interest in the Gothic. The architecture is framed through the lens of nineteenth-century romanticism. But the spiritual feeling evoked here also has a more intimate dimension. Consider the representation of the angel, poised above the scene. What does it mean to present such a figure in a moment of contemplation? Perhaps Durlet uses this religious imagery to reflect on his understanding of the sacred. The delicate lines of the etching enhance the dream-like quality of the piece, inviting us to consider our own place in the spaces we inhabit.