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The Arts Intel Report

Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media

Superstudio, Bazaar sofa, 1968.

Until Mar 30, 2025
107 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France

Thanks to social media, private domains—for instance, the bedroom—are private no more. From grooming and sleep to sex and intimacy, oversharing about what was once kept behind closed doors has become the norm. And while it may feel like an overnight shift, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’ new exhibition explores the much longer evolution of our collective perception of the bedroom. Broken into 12 sections, such as “Women and Privacy,” “Intimate Beauty and Fragrance,” “Promiscuity and Isolation,” and “Surveillance and Protection,” with over 470 works on display, the ever-changing definition of the bedroom can be traced from a Degas painting to a Gaetano Pesce chair and eventually to sex toys and Instagram. Pieces by the artists Nan Goldin and Judy Chicago underscore the reclamation of sexuality by 20th-century feminists while antique bidets and early Yves Saint Laurent fragrances explore the history of hygiene. The role of furniture plays a part too. It’s a long way from the twin beds of Lucy and Ricky to today’s vibrator reviews on TikTok. —Lucy Horowitz

© C. Toraldo di Francia, Superstudio, Archivio Filottrano