Ontwerp voor een juwelenkabinet voor een koningin 1788

Jean Démosthène Dugourc made this design for a jewelry cabinet for a queen using graphite. Dugourc created this design in France, a hotbed for Neoclassical designs intended for royalty in the late eighteenth century. The classical figures and architectural elements were designed to convey the values of reason, order, and stability, referencing an idealised past and alluding to the patron's elevated social status. France's Neoclassical movement occurred during a time of significant social and political upheaval. This is years before the French Revolution, when the monarchy was criticized for its excessive spending, and this design reflects the opulence and extravagance associated with the French court at the time. To understand this piece further, archival research into royal commissions, studies of Neoclassical design principles, and historical analyses of the French court's patronage practices are needed. These resources would reveal the complex social and institutional context that shaped the design and its potential reception.