How do you describe a work of art?
With art terms, of course! We’ve heard your questions about works of art at Getty, and we’re here to answer your Frequently Asked Art Questions (FAAQs).
Let’s take a look at a Kabinettschrank, one of the most detailed storage units in Getty’s collection, and a wonderful example of this art term.
Watch the video, or read on below!
Kabinettschrank is German for “cabinet cupboard,” the perfect redundancy for a cupboard comprised of smaller cupboards.
If you walk around the Kabinettschrank in the Getty Center Museum’s North Pavilion, (or check it out online), you’ll see that unlike your average kitchen cabinet, this 17th-century ornamental example opens on all four sides.
And behind each cabinet door is a work of miniature art.
There are smaller doors behind doors, miniature entranceways, and tiny doorknobs …
Petite paintings with an impressive amount of detail …
And wee wood carvings that tell allegorical, historical, and mythological stories.
These varied forms of adornment were created by some of the most famous artists of their day. Think an Eames, decorated by Banksy, with Takashi Murakami flowers. All of it bespoke, and crafted with rare, hard-to-source materials.
If, during the 17th and 18th centuries when Kabinettschränke were in vogue, you saw one of these in someone’s parlor, you knew they were a person of means. And what they kept inside the cabinet would be just as cool: jewelry, curios collected from around the world, and even more precious items stored in the Kabinettschrank’s hidden compartments.
If you had your own Kabinettschrank, what would you put in it?
What other art terms or paintings are you curious about? Let us know on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or email us at stories@getty.edu.
