Kandelaar met masker 1772 - 1779

Editor: This is Jean Pelletier's "Kandelaar met masker," a pen and engraving drawing from the late 1770s, housed here at the Rijksmuseum. It depicts a design for a wall sconce. What strikes me most is its ornate detailing. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a reflection of 18th-century manufacturing desires masked in Neoclassical grandeur. Look at the lines, the precise, repetitive patterns made possible by engraving. This wasn’t about artistic expression as much as it was about producing blueprints, setting a visual standard for artisans to reproduce in metal or plaster. What social implications do you see in decorative art production of this type? Editor: Well, the uniformity does suggest mass production and perhaps a wider availability of such decorative items. Was there a tension between the hand-crafted and the machine-made even then? Curator: Absolutely. Think about the labor involved. An engraver meticulously creating a design intended for reproduction. A craftsman, perhaps multiple, would then transform this design into a physical object using techniques specific to their chosen materials. This introduces a hierarchy of labour. Do you see this reflected anywhere within the piece? Editor: I do. The mask detail seems more skillfully rendered compared to the rest, perhaps suggesting a conscious effort to elevate a potentially "banal" design by handcrafting this specific area. Curator: Exactly! This piece embodies that liminal space, between design and art, craft and industry. This illuminates shifts in social values around aesthetics, labour, and wealth in the late 18th century. What have we learned today? Editor: That art can be industrial in a design like this and serve different roles in society beyond being something visually aesthetic! Curator: Precisely. Now we have examined art and its use value in terms of function!