Drawing Inspiration from History

Hello Fellow Beaders,

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of history. It is my muse when designing contemporary jewelry. I am mostly drawn to the historical perspective found in 15th through the 19th century paintings, architecture and ancient adornments.

Today, I was contemplating how domestic life has been documented via paintings. There have been many painters that have focused on real life stills that give other generations a peek into the lives of people in other times and places.

In this case, I was researching paintings by the French painter, Martin Drolling (1752 – 1817). His Interior of a Kitchen (circa 1815) offers much to the eye. From flowers, to pots and pans, to roasters and peelers, you get to analyze the accoutrements of a 19th century kitchen. As it is today, the kitchen is the center of their home.

Martin Drolling (1752 – 1817) Interior of a Kitchen (circa 1815)

As you examine the details, kind of like walking around the room, the focus centers on the two women sewing and the little girl playing with a kitten. This was certainly a time of no idle hands, as there was way too much work to be done in the day-to-day living, in this time.

Then, as often happens when researching, one thing leads to another. Lying on the floor is a doll dressed in period clothing. That thread led to looking into early children’s toys and taking a walk down memory lane in remembering what my toys were as a child.

Do you remember paper dolls? They were all the rage for many years when I was a kid. As I was researching, I came across this awesome “paper doll” locket from around 1650!

The locket consists of a small case (2 ¾” by 3 ½”) containing a painting of Queen Christina of Sweden (1629-1689). The amazing thing about this remarkable work of art is that the locket includes a series of 17 mica plates. Each plate is painted with different apparel, so you can change the Queen’s clothes, just like a contemporary paper doll. What child would not want to change a Queen’s clothes?

I hope that have enjoyed the first in my series of exploring art in history. Where will this research take me? I have no idea, but it was a pleasure! 

Documentation:

Interior of a Kitchen (circa 1815)

Owned by the Louvre in the Department of Painting so the Louvre Room 937, Paris, France

Oil on canvas

17th century “paper-doll” locket. Unfortunately, the Prague-based artisan is unknown, but this locket is dated to about circa 1650.

Owned by the Nordiska Museum in Stockholm, Sweden