Helft van rechthoekig plafond 1634 - 1716

Nicolas Pierre Loir created this print, entitled 'Half of a Rectangular Ceiling', in Paris, sometime in the mid-17th century. Here we see a carefully planned out design for the decoration of an elite interior. This print is revealing of how art and architecture served to reinforce social hierarchies in the France of Louis XIV. Note the classical motifs, like the acanthus leaves and the cherubic figures: these were visual codes that signalled refinement and learning to contemporary viewers. Also the symmetry and balance of the design imply a world of order and reason, values that the French monarchy sought to associate with its rule. By studying prints such as this, alongside architectural treatises and inventories of aristocratic collections, we can begin to understand how art and design were used to construct and maintain social power in the early modern period.