Blad met vijf vignetten en initiaal 1766 - 1785

Curator: This sheet presents five different vignette designs, plus an initial, dating roughly from 1766 to 1785. It's an ink drawing on paper. Quite delicate, isn't it? Editor: Delicate is one word, I see a world crammed into this little drawing; tiny figures adrift on ponds, goddesses reclining. It makes me feel a bit like I'm peering into someone else's very precise, baroque daydream. Curator: I see these vignettes as an important window into the workshop practices of the time. Look at the repeated motifs, the careful execution of each element... it points towards a division of labor. Probably several artisans worked on similar decorative elements to keep up with demand. Editor: Absolutely, but it also makes me think about the sheer volume of images surrounding people back then – every object adorned, every surface begging for embellishment. Curator: Which also suggests the commercial networks at play and the consumers that desired these objects... Editor: True! Although, beyond the consumption part of it all, do you see that tiny flourish near the goddess, like musical notation? It adds such a surreal touch, a hint of silent opera. What a whimsical personal touch amongst the formal designs. Curator: Or perhaps, we are observing an early experiment in branding. These repeated ornamental details function almost like a signature style; helping customers recognize work from the workshop. Editor: Trademark or dream mark? It’s really interesting to see them laid out like this. Do you think they were rejected, unfinished or are they part of something else, a record? Curator: Difficult to say definitively. However, considering the precise linework, the even distribution of forms, my assessment would be the sheet most likely functions as some kind of proof. Maybe it was the last step of checking and preparing images. Editor: Looking at these elegant compositions one last time, they tell a silent story of commerce, aesthetics, collaboration, and artistic creation. It’s lovely how they all are combined into such a quirky sheet of vignetttes! Curator: I agree completely! From a production standpoint to an artist’s dreams…all these sketches allow us an intimate, detailed insight into past design sensibilities and labor organization!