Archivolt, impost en balusters 1784 - 1785

Editor: So, here we have "Archivolt, impost en balusters," made around 1784 or 1785 by de Saint-Morien. It's a drawing and print, really focused on architectural elements. What I find fascinating is how precise and almost…sterile it feels. What strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: Sterile, you say? Hmmm, perhaps at first glance. But look closer. To me, it's less about coldness and more about aspiration. This drawing, rendered with such exquisite line work, represents Neoclassicism's grand ambition – a longing for the clarity and order they believed existed in antiquity. What do these architectural elements evoke for you? Do you feel that sense of idealized perfection? Editor: I guess I see what you mean. The precise lines do feel like they are aiming for some sort of ideal. They remind me a bit of architectural blueprints. How do these forms reflect the cultural context of the time? Curator: Absolutely. And this is exactly the spirit of The Enlightenment! Imagine Europe then—ideas about reason, progress, and order were radically reshaping society. Neoclassicism became the *visual* language of this new era. An embrace of rationality and a departure from what they perceived as the frivolous Rococo period that came before. Each carefully measured line and geometric shape was like a statement—"We are building a better world, one rational design at a time!" Think about the emphasis on geometric forms, such as squares and cylinders: what do they symbolize for you in contrast to more 'natural' or organic shapes? Editor: Now I'm picturing revolutionaries citing Euclid while designing new government buildings! So, it's not sterile, it's… optimistic. Thanks! Curator: Precisely! Or at least, brimming with hope. It’s funny, isn’t it, how a bunch of lines on paper can tell such a complicated story? This print really allows you to view architecture on its bare bones; the foundations upon which our world is built.