Letters BL 1755 - 1768

Editor: This is "Letters BL" created between 1755 and 1768 by Clément Pierre Marillier. It's watercolor and ink on paper and resides here in the Rijksmuseum. My first thought is…it feels so delicate. All those little blooms shaping the letter. It’s whimsical and meticulous all at once. What do you make of it? Curator: Delicate is absolutely the right word! I can almost smell the ink, you know? It makes me wonder if Marillier intended to capture the fleeting nature of beauty itself, building permanence from these temporary floral forms. It feels very much like trying to bottle the springtime! What does it make you think of? Editor: It reminds me of illuminated manuscripts, all those elaborate letterforms at the beginning of chapters. But this feels less… sacred, I guess? Curator: Precisely! That's the Rococo coming through, lightening things up! Less heavy, more airy. Though I would argue there’s a unique sort of sacredness in observing, categorizing, and rendering the natural world with such precision. In its time it might have been like a naturalist using an illustration to categorize different species! I can almost see Marillier studying each blossom before giving it immortality on paper. Do you notice anything else that stands out about this composition? Editor: I like how asymmetrical it is; there are gaps, a certain looseness…it’s not a rigid, perfect form, yet that somehow enhances its charm. Curator: Beautifully said! It resists perfection in favor of… what, do you think? Editor: Personality? Life? Curator: Perhaps. I like that! It reminds me that even letters can be living things, ever-changing. It also hints at the constraints of design for such projects, fitting aesthetic considerations alongside symbolic elements. It makes you think about it, in ways beyond its literal nature. Editor: That tension between the form and the wildness. Definitely something to consider!