Piano's met draperieën c. 1895 - 1910

Curator: The immediate feeling is one of lightness. These designs evoke a sense of whimsical elegance; there's a playful theatricality about them. Editor: Indeed. Let's delve deeper. This watercolor piece, entitled "Pianos met draperieën" - or "Pianos with Draperies," was created by Léon Laroche around 1895-1910. It exemplifies Art Nouveau sensibilities. Curator: And how! Observe the contrasting treatments. The left piano’s treatment leans toward order—the stripes, the garland framing what seems like a monogram—against the wild, unruly natural forms celebrated by Art Nouveau. Is this a power play—the “civilizing” force against the wild feminine, perhaps? Editor: Interesting perspective. Visually, it’s the materiality that arrests me. Laroche’s color palette of pastel pinks, greens, and creams generates an airy, dream-like quality. The eye dances across surfaces: the draped fabric cascading elegantly. See how he's composed these simple rectangular forms which contrasts beautifully against that delicate ornamentation. Curator: Agreed! And considering the date, it begs consideration within the social matrix. Late 19th-century bourgeois society placed great emphasis on the home as a cultivated space. The piano became an instrument not simply of melody but cultural enunciation, performed usually by white women in private. Editor: Absolutely. One might argue that these designs underscore such notions. The controlled application of color, the ornamental details—all contribute to an aesthetic experience firmly rooted in specific historical values, signifiers of high culture. Curator: Considering this as a staging—or rather a design idea for a piano—then that would be correct! It's a proposal to transform not merely an object, but the entire cultural act and associated presumptions, and gendered performance around piano performance. Editor: Yes, a proposition visualized through form and material! Both decorous and decadent... Curator: Precisely! This tension reveals itself in our interpretation of “Piano’s met draperieën”. Editor: Indeed. The dialogue, once again, is not simply between observers but between our histories.