Panelen en deur met lier en hoornen des overvloeds 1752 - 1794

Pierre Gabriel Berthault made this print of panels and a door with a lyre and cornucopia. This print is interesting to consider within its social context because it shows the aesthetic values of a specific social class and institution. This image creates meaning through visual codes, which are indicative of eighteenth-century French aristocratic culture. The print presents the design for interior woodwork and a door intended for installation in an affluent home. Notice the ornamentation: the lyre and cornucopia, the symmetrical balance of the panels and their placement within the composition. These details signal luxury and status. They align the occupant of the space with traditional notions of aesthetic value, cultivation, and taste. Examining sources like period etiquette manuals and architectural treatises would help us understand the extent to which such designs reinforced social hierarchies. Appreciating this artwork involves understanding how visual elements can reflect and perpetuate power structures within a society.