Design for a ceiling 1860 - 1900

Editor: This is a design for a ceiling, created sometime between 1860 and 1900, potentially by Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise. It's a watercolor, and it strikes me as incredibly restrained for a ceiling, almost like wallpaper. What stands out to you? Curator: The restraint, as you say, speaks volumes. Consider where this would have been placed – above, a space typically associated with the heavens, spirituality, aspiration. Instead of grand allegories, we have repetition, geometric forms, small crosses almost like tiny stars. What do these constellations suggest? Editor: Perhaps a sense of order? A predictable, domestic heaven, rather than a divine one? Curator: Precisely! The cross, historically so laden with religious and political significance, is reduced to a motif, a decorative element within a gridded framework. Look at the corners: what symbolic echoes do you see in those small botanical flourishes? Editor: They’re so stylized; it’s hard to see anything beyond ornamentation. A vague sense of growth maybe, pointing outwards? Curator: And is that not telling in itself? These images once bristled with life-affirming meaning and cultural power; over time, do you agree that they might be smoothed, blunted and reformed to match more restrained cultural attitudes? It might just be a design, but the careful arrangement suggests to me a profound shifting of symbolic value. Editor: That’s fascinating, I hadn't considered how much symbolism could be lost through something as simple as stylization. It definitely reframes how I see decorative arts. Curator: Indeed. Thinking about what is absent or muted can be just as informative as interpreting the obvious symbols. Thank you!