Louis XIV and Mademoiselle de La Vallière (Furnishing Fabric) c. 1815

Louis Charles Ruotte created this furnishing fabric, depicting Louis XIV and Mademoiselle de La Vallière. The dominant visual experience here is one of intricate patterning, rendered in a striking red dye on a white ground. This limited palette encourages us to focus on the interplay between the figures, architecture, and landscape. Through a semiotic lens, the red color itself operates as a signifier of power, passion, and perhaps even the bloodshed inherent in the era of Louis XIV. The scenes appear pastoral, yet they are meticulously arranged, suggesting a controlled, hierarchical structure mirroring the French court. Notice how the figures of Louis XIV and his mistress are positioned within this landscape, their relationship both a part of and distinct from the natural order. Finally, consider the fabric's function: a furnishing. This suggests that the complexities of power and personal relationships were not confined to the court but were woven into the very fabric of everyday life, blurring the boundaries between the personal, political, and aesthetic realms.