Plate II from Cabinet des Modes 15 - 1786

A.B. Duhamel made this print, Plate II from Cabinet des Modes, around the 1780s in France. It shows a luxuriously appointed bedchamber, complete with elaborate fabric swags and ornate classical details. This image comes from a specific cultural and institutional context: that of the fashion plate. Produced as part of a periodical, these images helped to disseminate and market elite styles. Furniture, as much as clothing, was subject to the dictates of fashion and novelty. The Cabinet des Modes and publications like it were central to solidifying Paris as the arbiter of taste in Europe. The rigid class structure of pre-revolutionary France dictated who could afford such luxury, but the dissemination of these images provided aspirational examples for the middle class. Historians consult primary documents such as trade ledgers, interior design manuals, and even novels to better understand the social and economic significance of luxury goods in 18th century France. This helps us to understand the complex relationship between taste, class, and social change.