Schoorsteenmantel met grotesken 1708 - 1724

This print of a chimney piece, teeming with grotesques, was made by Johann Adam Delsenbach, sometime in the 18th century. It's rendered in ink on paper, a relatively humble medium, yet it depicts an object of considerable material ambition. The design testifies to the Baroque obsession with decoration. Every surface is occupied by ornament. Consider the labor involved in realizing such a design in stone or plaster: carving skills of the highest order, and no shortage of elbow grease. Note also that it's a design for a chimney piece, literally the hearth of the home. This speaks to the emerging importance of domesticity in the 18th century. Prints like this one allowed for the wide circulation of design ideas. They effectively democratized taste, making the latest fashions available to a broad public. This is just one example of how the logic of mass production can intersect with the history of craft.