Kandelaar 1857 - 1859

Curator: Here at the Rijksmuseum, we have a drawing by Pierre Joseph Hubert Cuypers. This piece, aptly named "Kandelaar," or "Candlestick," was drafted between 1857 and 1859 using pencil. Editor: It's faint, isn't it? A ghostly premonition of form. It almost feels unfinished, like peering into the artist's thought process as he imagines light and shadow dancing around this object. Curator: Exactly! Cuypers was a key figure in the Gothic Revival movement in the Netherlands, and this drawing is likely a design study for a larger architectural project. Consider the societal push for rediscovering the past through detailed reproductions that informed this and similar projects during the era. Editor: It’s fascinating to see that level of detail captured in a simple pencil sketch. It reveals, to me, his reverence for Gothic forms. The floral motifs, the symmetry…they speak volumes about the artistic climate of the time, no? Curator: Absolutely. Drawings like this weren't just functional; they were arguments. Cuypers was advocating for a return to what he saw as a more authentic, spiritually resonant architecture. How it could uplift the public spirit! Editor: It makes you wonder how many public buildings stand today informed by humble studies just like this. It connects us to a moment where someone envisioned beauty in light and space. Looking at this I think back to times when people believed the built environment would impact their behaviour; the power art once wielded in everyday life. Curator: Indeed. It is easy to dismiss technical drawings. And yet this drawing offers a privileged peek behind the scenes of art history as well as how it helps craft a collective visual culture and our public spaces. Editor: Agreed. It whispers about aspirations beyond mere utility, back into a shared and glorious vision.