Drie ontwerpen voor muurornamenten c. 1725 - 1750

These three designs for wall ornaments were etched by Gabriel Huquier in the 18th century. The medium is humble: ink on paper, but the aesthetic is decidedly not. Huquier’s designs are florid, extravagant, and ornate, reflecting the Rococo style then in vogue. Note how the drawn line gives a sense of three-dimensionality, hinting at the experience of encountering these ornaments in real space. Though only conceptual, the designs speak to the immense labor required to produce such lavish objects. Highly skilled carvers, gilders and installers would have been needed to bring these designs to life, their expertise essential to realizing Huquier's vision. While this print is relatively modest, the wall ornaments it depicts are decidedly not. They speak to a culture of conspicuous consumption, where visual spectacle was as important as utility. The tension between the drawing’s simplicity and the ornaments’ complexity invites us to consider the social relations embedded in the world of design and making.