Dimensions: height 192 mm, width 225 mm
Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain
These reproductions present architectural plans for a Jesuit church in Brugge, conceived by Joseph Piscador. The drawings are rendered in ink on paper, a method demanding precision and control. The cross-section, side, front, and floor plan, show a meticulous representation of the proposed structure, and the architect's vision, but it's also a window onto the labor involved in realizing such a design. Consider the traditional skills required. Not just architectural expertise, but drafting, and the coordination of various trades – stonemasons, carpenters, glaziers. Each line represents hours of labor, both in the drawing and the future construction. The church itself, if built, would have been a nexus of social activity, of course. But we should also consider the economic implications: the resources consumed, the livelihoods sustained. Thinking about these drawings in terms of material and making helps us to see them not just as design documents, but as nodes in a wider network of labor, politics, and consumption.
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