Page from a Scrapbook containing Drawings and Several Prints of Architecture, Interiors, Furniture and Other Objects 1795 - 1805

This page from a scrapbook containing drawings and several prints of architecture, interiors, furniture and other objects was made by Charles Percier, a leading architect and designer during the Napoleonic era in France. Percier’s drawings reflect the aesthetic values and social structures of his time. The designs of interiors and furniture speak to the era’s obsession with order, symmetry and classical motifs that were central to expressing power. Percier’s designs offer insight into the lives of the upper class, and what it meant to perform one’s status through carefully crafted spaces. Think about how the creation of domestic space can create gendered expectations. Many of Percier’s design choices likely reinforced the idea of separate spheres for men and women, dictating how each should inhabit and interact with these spaces. What we see on this page is more than just design; it's a reflection of the values and norms that shaped French society during a period of immense social and political change.