Design for Ceiling at Fontainebleau 1850 - 1900

Editor: This is "Design for Ceiling at Fontainebleau," a drawing or print made sometime between 1850 and 1900 by Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise. I see a lot of different colors and intricate patterns, almost like fabric samples. What is your read on the piece? Curator: The immediate read is a decorative aesthetic deeply entrenched in historical and social power dynamics. Consider where these designs were intended to be placed: the ceilings of Fontainebleau, a palace synonymous with French royalty and authority. We need to consider how the museum system reinforces such values through this piece. Editor: You mean like, hanging it on a wall now still gives it a sense of importance and grandeur? Curator: Precisely. The palace itself was a stage for projecting power and legitimizing the ruling class. The designs are ornate, meticulous and reflect that the monarchy sought to manufacture a specific image of wealth, luxury and cultivated taste to separate themselves. What strikes you about the patterns themselves? Editor: The motifs are interesting. The repetition feels… deliberate. Almost like they’re trying to convey order. Curator: The repeating motifs create a visual language—one that reinforces existing social hierarchies. Imagine looking up at these ceilings. The aesthetic experience is dictated by wealth and elitism. Now, does that change at all seeing them divorced from their setting, framed as design elements? Editor: That’s interesting! As a drawing, they highlight artistry but without that social context of display, maybe dilute some intended message? Thank you. Curator: Yes, by critically assessing how museums display objects like this design we open the possibility of analyzing the visual rhetoric that serves power. Something for us both to think about further!