Design for Gallery Elevation and Ceiling, Hôtel Cottier 1862 - 1872

Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise created this design for a gallery elevation and ceiling at the Hôtel Cottier, using graphite and watercolor. It represents an interior, which gives us insight into the art market of its time. The design emphasizes an ideal setting for art display. Note how the hanging of paintings and even the ceiling design serve to elevate the artwork, quite literally! The choice of a domestic interior is interesting. In nineteenth-century France, art moved into private homes of the upper classes, thus becoming a marker of social status. The design is lavish. Its architectural elements such as the ornate cornices, ceiling decorations, and even the choice of paintings themselves create an impression of wealth and cultural refinement. To understand this artwork better, one might research the history of art collecting in France, the economics of the art market, and the interior design trends of the time. All these elements give meaning to art, reminding us that art is deeply embedded in social and institutional contexts.