Venster met gordijnen after 1878

This print, made in Paris sometime in the 19th century, shows a window display. The curtains are lavish, heavy with tassels, ornamented in a style then known as "à l'italienne". What we're really looking at here is an advertisement, produced to showcase the wares of a furniture store. Consider the historical context: the 19th century saw the rise of consumer culture in Europe. As industrial production increased, so did the availability of goods, leading to the growth of department stores and marketing. This print isn't just an image of a window; it's an invitation to participate in a new kind of social life, one defined by the acquisition of commodities. To understand this image fully, we need to look into the history of advertising, the rise of consumerism, and the social norms around interior decoration in 19th-century France. Art doesn't exist in a vacuum, it's always embedded in a specific social and institutional context.