Justine Lécuyer // Cultural and technical transfers between France and Germany in the 19th century
At the crossroads of art history, the history of technology and economic and social history, the research I'll be carrying out at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte concerns the history of the furniture trade. I'm interested in the means of production, the uses, circulation and marketing of objects. A wide range of technical literature is being developed for the transmission of knowledge. An in-depth study of these works will enable me to draw a comparison between French and German writings on the techniques employed, particularly for upholstering seats and cutting fabrics, and to highlight the contributions as well as the plagiarisms between the countries. I also plan to study the circulation of models through the documentary holdings of the workshops - drawings, collections of ornaments, photographs - in terms of their reception as sources of inspiration. This research also has certain contemporary resonances, linking art history to current concerns about the value of crafts and the transmission of know-how in the face of their possible disappearance.
