Eight Fables of La Fontaine (Furnishing Fabric) c. 1810

This furnishing fabric presents scenes from La Fontaine’s fables. The images are vessels carrying moral tales and a reflection of human nature, rendered here with the visual language of their time. Note the recurrence of animals, not merely as creatures of the wild, but as stand-ins for human virtues and follies. The lion, traditionally a symbol of strength and nobility, appears in various contexts. Consider how the portrayal of animals echoes through art history, from the bestial forms in medieval allegories to their roles in Renaissance emblems, each era imbuing them with fresh symbolic weight. The presence of these fables taps into something primal. We find our anxieties and aspirations mirrored in the animal kingdom. This connection reminds us that humans have long projected their inner worlds onto the external, blurring the lines between observer and observed. It is through these symbolic encounters that art continues to engage us on a profound, subconscious level. These fables, like all enduring images, return to us, transformed, yet fundamentally unchanged, in an endless dance of cultural memory.