Design for one section of a ceiling painted with trees and lattices 1850 - 1900

This is a watercolor design for a ceiling, painted with trees and lattices, by Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise. Looking at this design, it’s helpful to consider the architectural conventions of early 20th-century interior design and how they reflect social values. The classical motifs and naturalistic elements suggest an aspiration to bring the outdoors in, but within a highly structured framework. This speaks to a desire to control and order nature, typical of bourgeois sensibilities of the time. The geometric precision of the lattice work, combined with the organic forms of the trees, suggests a tension between the natural world and the man-made environment. In a country undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization, such designs offered a form of idealized escape. Understanding this artwork requires looking at architectural pattern books, interior design magazines, and social histories of the period. What the design tells us, ultimately, is about how people at the time wanted to see themselves in relation to the world around them.