Page from a Scrapbook containing Drawings and Several Prints of Architecture, Interiors, Furniture and Other Objects 1795 - 1805

Editor: Here we have a page from a scrapbook by Charles Percier, made around 1795-1805. It’s a combination of drawings and prints on paper, showcasing architecture and other designs. What strikes me is the sparseness of the page. How do you interpret this work? Curator: From a formalist perspective, I find the emptiness quite deliberate. Notice the linear quality of the architectural rendering contrasting with the vast plane of the page. The composition foregrounds the intrinsic graphic qualities – line, shape, texture – while minimising any narrative associations. Editor: So, the blank space isn’t just…empty? Curator: Precisely. Think of it as activating a visual field. The sparse elements are deliberately placed. Note the rectangular relationship between the crisp cut of the architectural print versus the more worn edges of the label near the spine of the open book. The work becomes a study in contrasts – precision versus chance. What feelings does this structure elicit? Editor: I see what you mean about the contrasting lines. It feels...stark. Almost like an architect's mind at work. Curator: Exactly! It provides an insight into the formal language of design through this calculated placement of linear shapes. The page itself becomes the medium – the setting – which invites engagement and examination of artistic practice. The surface is not merely incidental, but vital. Editor: I had not considered the page's void space a deliberate artistic element. Now it does read more structurally complex. Curator: Art is always intentional to some degree, but seeing how these intentions make something aesthetically affecting makes all the difference. I’m glad it helped you decode the form.