Design for a Ceiling Decoration 1800 - 1900

This is a design for a ceiling decoration, by an anonymous artist, rendered in watercolor and pen and ink. When we look at this design, we are confronted with the grandiosity of interior decoration of this period, as well as a paradox. On one hand, the cherubs, flowers, and emblems speak to wealth, leisure and perhaps religious or spiritual aspirations. Yet, the identity of the artist is unknown. Consider the conditions under which such a work would be made. Who was allowed to take credit for their creative labor and who was not? What were the social expectations? And what did it mean to be a woman, perhaps laboring anonymously in a domestic sphere, or a member of the working class whose contributions were deemed less significant? Even in its incomplete state, this design can prompt us to think about the complex power dynamics inherent in the art world, and in the creation of cultural artifacts.