Six designs set in medallions 1850 - 1900

Curator: Ah, yes, "Six designs set in medallions", a drawing made with etching from sometime between 1850 and 1900. The artist is Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise. Editor: Immediately I think of something lifted from a very ornate calling card! There’s something delicate and a little… preposterous about the compositions. Like tiny, baroque secrets. Curator: Considering its likely original function as part of a decorative arts design portfolio, it makes sense. Think about the labour invested here. Each medallion is a distinct object that also is a repeatable pattern which means it's perfect for mass production. Editor: It’s fascinating how readily we assume these were intended for mass production, as you say. Perhaps Lachaise had more personal, handcrafted applications in mind? I find myself pondering the stories these tiny medallions might conceal. Each symbol, each flourish must whisper something specific... like a visual poem. Curator: We can appreciate its visual complexity and the delicate etching, of course. However, these medallions can also be a record of the artistic labour and technical skill that the artist or the craftsman would use to earn a livelihood during the Industrial Revolution when consumer culture exploded. Editor: A record! Precisely! And perhaps a kind of intimate rebellion? An assertion of the personal amid the growing mechanization. Each swirl and meticulously etched detail… a declaration of humanity! Am I reading too much into it? Curator: Well, maybe a bit too much, although such interpretations of art are crucial as they invite conversation. Let's not disregard the power of creative freedom under economic restraint. Art is always connected with its historical situation. Editor: Perhaps I'm too eager to unearth profound statements, to force an artist's intention onto things, when sometimes a calling card is just a calling card. However, I won’t deny it inspires daydreams! Curator: Which in the end contributes to cultural meaning. A pretty nice etching overall, by the way, I am happy to have been able to provide you with the necessary information. Editor: Indeed. I'm glad to let the images resonate with new ideas, however fanciful. Thanks!