The Political and Revolutionary Implications of the Mysterious History of Parquet Flooring

Abstract

This presentation seeks to ask about the potential political implications of the history of parquet flooring. This is to prove that while politics indeed shape art, art also has a hand in shaping politics; and it is more symbiotic than generally assumed. Using empirical quantitative and qualitative research, I traced the origins of parquet flooring to the Palace at Versailles. This is where wood and the techniques of marquetry were first used to replace a marble floor in the King’s bedroom. The marble was too cold, and as the King’s Bedroom had a number of issues with drafts, it added to the health risk to keep the marble floor. Changing the marble to wood, but keeping the pattern of a marble floor allowed for the aesthetics of marble without the hazard.This presentation will look at the history of parquet flooring and apply it to the political climate of pre-revolutionary France. It will first address the research required to find the origins of the flooring. It will then argue the necessity of parquet flooring, along with other later features of the palace, as symbolic of the flaws of absolutism. Finally, the presentation will how this symbolic art fits into the complicated relationship between politics and art.