About this artwork
This is Pierre Gabriel Berthault's "Table with Floral Motif," a design on paper dating back to the late 18th century. It represents a commode, likely intended for an aristocratic residence. Berthault was an engraver, not a furniture maker himself. His skill with the burin is clear in the precision of the lines, the evenness of tone. And that's important to understand here. Engravings like this played a crucial role in disseminating design ideas across Europe. The image testifies to a moment of transition. On the one hand, luxury goods were still produced by highly skilled specialists, working to commission. On the other, printed images allowed for wider circulation of design, and thus a degree of standardization. The designer could be separated from the maker, who might be anywhere. Berthault's image, therefore, sits at the intersection of craft production and nascent industrialization. It shows the pre-revolutionary world, just before everything changed.
Artwork details
- Medium
- drawing, print, engraving
- Dimensions
- height 212 mm, width 315 mm
- Location
- Rijksmuseum
- Copyright
- Rijks Museum: Open Domain
Tags
drawing
neoclacissism
geometric
history-painting
engraving
Comments
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About this artwork
This is Pierre Gabriel Berthault's "Table with Floral Motif," a design on paper dating back to the late 18th century. It represents a commode, likely intended for an aristocratic residence. Berthault was an engraver, not a furniture maker himself. His skill with the burin is clear in the precision of the lines, the evenness of tone. And that's important to understand here. Engravings like this played a crucial role in disseminating design ideas across Europe. The image testifies to a moment of transition. On the one hand, luxury goods were still produced by highly skilled specialists, working to commission. On the other, printed images allowed for wider circulation of design, and thus a degree of standardization. The designer could be separated from the maker, who might be anywhere. Berthault's image, therefore, sits at the intersection of craft production and nascent industrialization. It shows the pre-revolutionary world, just before everything changed.
Comments
No comments