Sacristy chair 1935 - 1942

Vera Van Voris made this watercolor painting of a sacristy chair sometime in the twentieth century. On the face of it, it’s a rather straightforward depiction of a piece of furniture. But what does it mean to make a picture of a chair? The image invites us to consider the social life of objects. Historically, the Catholic Church has commissioned and utilized the very best art and craftsmanship in order to convey its power and prestige, which it has maintained through complex institutional structures. The image is not merely a visual record but a cultural artifact loaded with historical associations. As an art historian, I might ask: What was the status of this chair in its own time and place? What kind of person might have used it? What kinds of social relations did it facilitate? Researching objects like this helps us to understand the networks of cultural production and consumption within specific institutional contexts.