Schouw en boekenkasten 1753 - 1782

Editor: Here we have "Schouw en boekenkasten," or "Mantelpiece and bookcases," a drawing made between 1753 and 1782, credited to Pierre Claude Delagardette. It's a wonderfully precise, almost austere rendering in pen, print and engraving, of an ideal domestic scene. There’s something comforting in its symmetry, though…it also feels a bit cold. What do you make of it? Curator: Cold, perhaps because we are so accustomed to rooms brimming with stuff, life practically overflowing its banks! This, though, is the Neoclassical dream, isn't it? A vision of order and reason. Delagardette presents us with an idealized architectural blueprint, devoid of the chaos of lived-in space. Imagine the mindset of the time. Editor: The pursuit of perfection? Curator: Indeed! Every line, every carefully placed book (presumably!) speaks of deliberate control and refined taste. It’s not just a room; it’s a statement. What stories could be hiding in those neatly stacked books, do you suppose? Love affairs, scandals, perhaps treatises on geometry! Who is the gentleman above the shelves? Editor: The room does evoke a story of order, rather than one of actual use! I also get that it’s very French... everything perfectly *in its place.* Thanks, I can definitely appreciate it more. Curator: Precisely. It's about an aspiration. And isn't that what art, even architectural drawings, often captures? Now, imagine this in full color, richly appointed... how does it transform the narrative?