Design for the Right Side of a Door with Pediment and Fluted Pilasters 17th century

This is an architectural design, rendered in pen and ink, for the right side of a door with pediment and fluted pilasters. The drawing is concerned with the aesthetics of power and status. Architectural drawings like these offer a glimpse into the cultural values of a particular society, revealing who had the power to commission such designs and whose stories were deemed worthy of representation in stone and structure. Notice, for example, the use of classical motifs like the pediment and fluted pilasters, which borrow from ancient Greek and Roman architecture. This anonymous drawing allows us to consider the ways in which architectural designs can perpetuate or challenge societal hierarchies. The design embodies the emotional investment in creating spaces that reflected and reinforced prevailing social norms. In considering who was included and excluded from such spaces, we start to understand how architecture shapes identity and experience.