Before I went to see “The Art of French Wallpaper Design,” on view at the RISD Museum through May 11, I thought the exhibition might be stuffy, but quite the opposite — it is a fascinating viewing experience. The wallpaper samples in the show are from the French Rococo period (1770-1840) and relate a softer style of decorative art than Baroque. The historical context in which they were made spans the opulence of Marie Antoinette, and encompasses the French Revolution, a period of cultural shift is the time frame that led to the emergence of the French middle-class. The design challenge for wallpaper manufacturersin France at that time involved creating surface designs for newly cossetted middle-class interiors, mimicking Château-style at mass-produced prices. Emily Banas, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at RISD Museum, oversaw the conservation of the works in the show … [Read more...] about THE STORY ON THE WALLS