Design for Two Vases 1765 - 1790

Curator: What an elegant composition, though so simple. It has such a serene and almost weightless feel. Historian: This is an anonymous design for two vases, dating sometime between 1765 and 1790, rendered in drawing and print. The piece currently resides here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The vases are laid out symmetrically, the drawing medium rendering them as concepts on a page, rather than tangible objects in a domestic setting. Curator: They are evocative, despite being simply designs. Look at the vase on the left, for instance; it features elaborate patterning. This piece has something of archaic Greece but feels decisively Neoclassical. Its cool color evokes detachment. Historian: Precisely! This harkens back to the antique as a source of legitimacy and sophistication, mirroring the interests of wealthy patrons at the time, hungry for connections to antiquity. You also see a revival of print media during this period as well. They sought to bring the aesthetic into the realm of interior decoration. Curator: And observe the second vase, appearing on the right. So light, the artist rendered it with only the barest suggestion of materiality! Notice how, the delicate, barely-there style contributes to this impression, doesn't it? This kind of depiction contrasts markedly with our deeply felt, symbolic connection with tangible ritual vessels and burial urns from older eras. Historian: Good eye. That stark contrast between a full accounting and spare suggestion illuminates evolving aesthetic preferences and changing perceptions about value. This was an era obsessed with reason, with design stripped of excess, reflecting shifts in society. Imagine wealthy patrons displaying these vases, proclaiming their cultivated tastes and embrace of a 'rational' aesthetic. Curator: So, in a sense, even seemingly simple vases become signifiers. Thanks for sharing this, these unassuming artworks open so much about a world transformed through symbols. Historian: Thank you as well! Seeing them as embodiments of cultural change adds more dimensions. This design goes beyond mere decoration, really.