Louis & Armand's Living Room Wall: A Character Analysis
So Louis and Armand have this giant wall, in their living room. The wall is given a lot of screentime, and a lot of importance. And I think that this wall (and what's hanging on it) says a LOT about Louis' mental state, Armand's mental state, and the state of their relationship.
So this is the very first shot we get of the inside of the penthouse, it's our intro into Daniel in Louis & Armand's world.
We've got those three red pantings, called out in dialog as "the Bacon triptych" "Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion," and "The Three Furies." Which I think we're meant to read as a visual representation of Louis' pain.
First, Francis Bacon is specifically riffing off this altarpiece:
and you can absolutely see him subtly using the iconography and shapes of (from left to right) - John the Apostle, the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist
the left one has John's red hair and red wrap, the center has mary's white veil/headscarf, and Bacon leans into the way it kinda looks like a blindfold (the shape of Mary Magdalene has been simplified into that table/tripod thing.) And the one on the right is the general shape of John the Baptist, with the lamb represented as that furry carpet.
The most important painting is the center "Virgin Mary" one, the one that frames Daniel. And the most OBVIOUS meaning here (other than the catholic of it all, which is very Louis) is -- death of a child. Mary is watching Jesus die. It's a painting of his Claudia pain.
BUT these are also the three "furies," the goddesses of vengeance (so ALSO very Louis) who come down especially hard on liars and oath breakers. And the remaining liar/oath breaker? Armand, and arguably Lestat. Louis doesn't know the extent of Armand betrayal, but he DOES know that he sold them out to the Paris coven because of his "cowardice." These are the two main sources of his current pain. Daniel is here to help them process them, and that's why Daniel's sitting right in the middle of them. His head is literally in the game.
BUT Armand (in his Rashid persona, and that doesn't feel like a good omen, putting on a false face in front of the furies) is blocking the one on the right almost completely. HE wants to sell the Bacon Triptych, take it down off the wall. That's because... Armand doesn't WANT Louis' pain front and center. The last thing we hear him say to Louis is "One night, 70 years ago. You are over this, Louis! The pain of it has left you (...) You have forgiven me for what part I played in her death!"
After he successfully sells the triptych, Louis and Armand have this conversation in front of the blank wall:
ARMAND: The two Barcelos would fit.
LOUIS: If we replaced the couch.
ARMAND: I assumed we would.
LOUIS: The couch, then the table, then the Antieau Javelina, then, then, then, then.
ARMAND: How about the Ai Weiwei wallpaper with the Hockney lemons?
LOUIS: Like we're a Firmdale hotel lobby?
ARMAND: Okay, what do you think we should do with the wall?
LOUIS: What about a selection of Fred Steins, tastefully framed? They've been sitting in my albums all this time, seems a waste. Or better not to have so tangible a reminder of Paris up on our walls?
ARMAND: An interview about Paris is a more tangible reminder of Paris than a few photographs.
LOUIS: Huh. Leave it bare then. Wait for revelation to enter the room.
It's unclear what Armand means by "the two Barcelos" so I get to speculate. I think we're talking about Miquel Barceló, and I also think we're talking about his sculptures rather than his paintings, because of the reference to moving the couch. Which you would DEFINITELY do if you were moving in sculptures, but probably not if you were hanging a painting. Especially since it's a really neutral, charcoal grey couch.
Also, the fact that it's TWO Barcelos mean that I'm looking for sculptures that are part of set, and the famous Barcelo sculpture series is "Metamorphosis."
And I dunno. This seems pretty Armand coded to me. Metamorphosis as a concept is very Armand, with all his shifting identities, but I'm also getting *hunger* from this, I'm getting *damage,* I'm getting shaky foundation... and the shaky foundation, it's built out of corrupted Roman pillars (cough marius de romanus cough.) So, if the Bacon triptych symbolizes Louis' pain, maybe this symbolizes Armand's pain (and his interiority, his backstory.) It's his first pick after all.
But Louis says no, shuts it down. Armand's next suggestion is pretty straightforward. The Ai Weiwei "Wallpaper" piece is all about imprisonment and surveillance.
And David Hockney, important figure of post-war pop art, painted mid-century American scenes that at first glance seem to be bright, clean, and happy... but have a sort of melancholy, suburban malaise underneath the surface. He's really famous for his paintings of swimming pools.
But he also painted a lot of lemons. I think it's because we've got that bright yellow on the outside, hiding an underlying bitterness.
So, this pair of artworks is Armand saying "can we continue on as we have been?" (me keeping you superficially happy in my "prison of empathy.") And Louis says no, because he's recovered his memories at this point, he's getting wise to Armand's deceptions.
Then Louis suggests (a little sarcastically) that they should hang the Fred Stein photographs that Armand has been slipping into his portfolio. We're never explicitly told WHY Armand is doing this - pretty weird thing, but I think it's got to do with memory, and the David Hockney superficial happiness of it all. Armand wants Louis to remember a Paris that was better than it was, more romantic than it was (where Louis was a better photographer than he was...) But that story isn't reflected in Louis' photographs, so Armand... fixes it. 'Cleans up the mess' (the way he always does.)
So, Louis wanting to put that 'Fred Stein' lie front and center is a call out. He's saying that he wants to focus on Paris (with Daniel) and remind himself of Armand's lie. So, a way to interpret this conversation is Armand saying "can we focus on my damage/past/interiority/pain," Louis saying no. Then Armand saying "can we keep things status quo?" and Louis saying no. Then Louis says "can we focus on the truth of Paris." And Armand says no. At which point, Louis says he wants to wait for "revelation to enter the room." AND - we cut to this shot.
Revelation HAS entered the room (its name is Daniel Molloy.) Because Daniel of course breaks the case wide open, exposes Armand, and helps Louis process the pain he's had since that first shot.
Pictured - Louis processing pain. By throwing Armand at the living room wall.
The NEXT time we see the wall, it looks like this --
Louis has introduced color back into his life (also lot of yellow. which is a very *Claudia* color.)
The new painting is "Shelter" by contemporary artist Peter Jerrod Macon, and it's of a mother embracing a child. (confirmed by production designer Mara LePere Schloop.) SO - Louis is no longer defined by his pain like he was at the beginning of season one, when he was the Virgin Mary watching a child die. Now he's defined by the *love* he feels for his child.
It's also a very large painting. So, I like to think that the crack in the wall is still there, underneath it. As Louis says in Paris, he hangs art to "cover up the cracks in the walls." That pain and damage is still a part of Louis, but now he's able to build over it.
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