Plate 1819 - 1836

Editor: This unassuming "Plate", created sometime between 1819 and 1836 by Joseph Stubbs, combines ceramic, tempera, and perhaps a bit of wishful thinking! Looking at this stoneware, decorated in monochromatic landscape, there's a strange, almost dreamlike quality to it. How should we look at something like this? What story does a decorative plate like this want to tell? Curator: Ah, it whispers tales, doesn't it? It takes me to a bucolic reverie! This isn't just about food service; it's about social aspirations, about creating an Arcadian scene, perhaps even suggesting some visual harmony between neoclassicism and landscape. And that floral border, juxtaposed with that central vista...It begs the question: What's being framed here – a picturesque view or a societal ideal? Editor: A societal ideal on a plate...that’s something to chew on, isn't it? But do you think that the artist was really thinking about class and society while making decorative patterns? It seems very subtle, doesn’t it? Curator: Exactly! Subtlety is often the point. Art, even the most humble domestic object, often hints at something grander. It might suggest, for example, that even our dinnerware could transport us, momentarily, to a more refined, elegant world. Maybe not such a bad sentiment. What would it mean to eat your pudding in a tiny perfect landscape, right? Editor: That’s fascinating. I guess I was underestimating this plate, or perhaps any functional item can express something grand if we look closely enough. Thanks, that was extremely interesting. Curator: And thank you. Now I might start scrutinizing my own dishware. There’s art everywhere.