Onderboezem in nis c. 1660 - 1666

Jean Lepautre created this print, Onderboezem in nis, with etching in the seventeenth century. The image shows a design for a grand fireplace, complete with equestrian statue. Prints like this circulated widely in France at the time, acting as a kind of pattern book for fashionable interiors. Lepautre was one of many artists who understood the growing market for luxury goods among the French aristocracy, producing designs for all kinds of decorative objects. Looking closely, we see classical figures and motifs throughout, reflecting the period's fascination with antiquity and with the Italian Renaissance. The print offers us a glimpse into the material culture of the court of Louis XIV. Art historians use inventories, architectural plans, and other archival materials to understand how these designs shaped elite taste and expressed social status. Through these resources, we can appreciate the relationship between art, power, and social life in the period.