Ontwerp voor een verstelbaar haardscherm, voor en zijaanzicht en details. Verso: Details van haardschermen c. 1852 - 1855

Editor: Here we have B. Winghofer’s "Ontwerp voor een verstelbaar haardscherm" – that's "Design for an adjustable fire screen" – made with pencil around 1852 to 1855. I find the quietness of the color and precise lines intriguing. What's your take on it? Curator: The quietness you describe resonates with the Biedermeier period in which this drawing emerged, a time of political repression after the Napoleonic Wars that saw people withdrawing into private life. This design, ostensibly for a simple firescreen, can be seen as an object born of that era, reflecting domesticity as a sphere of quiet resistance against public turmoil. The lines are precise, as you said. To me, it almost resembles an architectural blueprint – what might that suggest to you, considering its domestic function? Editor: It’s almost like mapping or setting the boundaries of domestic space, carefully controlled comfort and retreat… Curator: Exactly! And that level of control becomes crucial when considering gender roles of the time. Who do you imagine benefiting most from a carefully adjusted firescreen? Who had the privilege to retreat into comfort, shielded from the world, while others didn't? Editor: The woman of the house, perhaps, further cementing her role as caretaker of the home. So, the firescreen becomes less about comfort, and more about confinement and role-reinforcement. Curator: Precisely. This seemingly innocuous design opens up conversations around gender, class, and the hidden politics of domestic space. By analysing details, we challenge normative narratives surrounding comfort and privacy. What was just an interesting set of lines, has actually told us a whole lot. Editor: I never thought I'd be thinking about quiet resistance when looking at a design of a fire screen! I guess these unassuming artifacts really do carry hidden social narratives.