Plattegrond van het kasteel van Fethard Possibly 1793 - 1796

Editor: So, we're looking at "Plattegrond van het kasteel van Fethard," likely made between 1793 and 1796, an anonymous drawing or print on paper depicting architecture. It's fascinating how a building can be represented like this, stripped down to its essential form. What strikes you when you see this work? Curator: I am intrigued by the drawing's production within the social context of its time. Neoclassicism often looked back to classical forms, but this print focuses on the nuts and bolts of making. This isn't just about the aesthetic ideal of a castle; it’s about the labour required to conceptualize and then *materially* build it. Do you consider how such prints democratised knowledge? Editor: Democratized? That's an interesting way to put it. Curator: Indeed. Previously, architectural plans might have been confined to a select elite. Prints, by their very nature, make knowledge more widely accessible, connecting directly with material understanding and challenging high-art's exclusivity. The circulation of this print implicates both labour and the expanding networks of consumerism and education of the era. I think the format invites the public into design. How was architecture communicated to different audiences in this period, and what's lost in this transition? Editor: So you're suggesting it shifts architecture from an exclusive practice to something more available? I hadn't really thought about the social implications of making plans accessible. Curator: Precisely! We must recognize the role of drawing in planning such construction. What kind of materials were needed to built it and their sourcing? Whose hands were involved at which stages? It helps me better appreciate this piece, and think of the wider society to which the architecture, its drawing and its material construction belong. Editor: That’s a powerful way of looking at it – not just what the drawing depicts, but what its existence *means* in terms of the cultural landscape. I definitely have a richer understanding now.