Curtain panel c. 19th century

This curtain panel presents us with a field of red squares, each one sitting neatly amidst a grid of white. It’s a pattern so deceptively simple, it risks being overlooked, yet its repetitive geometry resonates with a deep history, invoking order and stability. The square, or the grid, has appeared across cultures. From the Roman grid-like city planning that organized space and society to the chessboard, the grid has represented structure, control, and a framework for interaction. Consider the swaddling clothes of the Christ child, often depicted in Renaissance paintings. The grid of the cloth, like the square here, becomes a symbol of protection, of boundaries—physical and spiritual. But these symbols are not static. Over time, the grid can also represent confinement, or the loss of freedom. Think of the gridded windows of prisons or the clinical layouts of modern architecture. This curtain panel, with its gentle color and soft texture, softens the stark geometry, reminding us that the power of symbols lies in their malleability, their ability to reflect and shape our collective memory.