Twee bureaus after 1878

Editor: So, here we have “Twee bureaus,” two desks rendered in drawing and print medium sometime after 1878. The ornamentation and wood-grain rendering are incredibly compelling. It’s as though someone has bottled up the gravitas of industry! What are your thoughts on it? Curator: Ah, yes. It makes me think of old libraries, doesn’t it? The smell of polished wood and leather-bound books. Look closely. What do you think is the artist trying to convey by juxtaposing these two desks with such contrasting detailing? Editor: One is ornate, all carvings and embellishments, while the other seems quite reserved with a classical formality. Is the artist possibly presenting different ideals, perhaps regarding status or wealth? Curator: Possibly. And, perhaps, about accessibility to culture as well? I almost feel I could pull up a chair to the plainer desk – whereas the other feels more forbidding, almost like a throne! Consider the context - "Le Magasin de Meubles" as the title suggests; is this more about salesmanship, about variety? The fine lines are wonderful either way! Which pulls you in more, visually? Editor: Definitely the first one; all those drawers offer promise! I hadn't thought about sales and marketing. I suppose this wasn't necessarily a piece of 'high' art? Curator: Perhaps that’s the beauty of it; it’s art embedded in commerce, something deeply human, deeply accessible. We sometimes separate “art” from daily life. The past often refuses to neatly categorize itself that way. I'd give both desks a place of honour; they speak different visual languages, each eloquent, yet somehow connected through the hand that drafted their being. Editor: It’s amazing how much you can unpack from a couple of desks! I'll never look at furniture catalogues the same way again!