Onderboezem tussen twee Korintische pilasters c. 1658 - 1670

Jean Lepautre created this print of a chimney piece with an under mantle, sometime in the 17th century. Note the classical Corinthian pilasters and allegorical figures. It’s an image steeped in the visual language of power and social status. Lepautre was a designer and engraver working in Paris. His prints, like this one, were circulated among architects, designers, and wealthy patrons. The image promotes a very particular vision of luxury and refinement, one intimately tied to the court of Louis XIV. The print offers a glimpse into the world of elite taste and consumption in France. How did the Sun King and his court shape artistic production? What was the role of institutions like the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture? Questions like these drive art historians. We use archival sources, period documents, and visual analysis to reconstruct the complex social forces that shaped the art of the past. Art doesn't exist in a vacuum; it's always embedded in a specific time, place, and set of power relations.