Deurlijst 1784 - 1785

This is C. Le Meunnié's 'Deurlijst,' an engraving on paper. Door frames such as this one were central to the domestic lives of wealthy Europeans. The elaborate ornamentation speaks to the ways in which the elite have historically used visual culture to represent their privilege. Think about how spaces and the objects within them can act as stages for performing one’s identity. Consider the racial dynamics involved in such displays of wealth. The resources required to build and maintain such homes were often extracted from colonized lands and through the labor of enslaved people. How might this change the way we look at these objects today? While seemingly innocuous, even a door frame can tell us a lot about history, class, and power.