Today, I’m continue my quest to identify props used in Laura Palmer’s bedroom from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. A few years ago, I found the floral still life above Laura’s dresser where she hid her secret diary. Now I have identified the frame floral print located at her bedside.
FINDING THE MATCH
We first see the floral print when Leland Palmer visits Laura after an uncomfortable exchange at the dinner table. To find a match, I cropped down the framed print and used Google Lens search. The results were immediate.
The print is a copy of Jean Louis Prevost’s “Plate 7” from his “Collection des Fleurs et des Fruits” from 1805. The original, as shown above, measured 21 1/2″ x 14 1/4”.
JEAN LOUIS PREVOST
Prévost was born in 1760 in Nointel, France. He shouldn’t be confused with another Jean Louis Prévost, a Swiss neurologist and physiologist that lived from 1838-1927,
The artist Prévost was a French still-life painter best known for his depictions of flower arrangements in both oil and watercolor. Many consider his “Collection des Fleurs et des Fruits” as one of the best French flower books of the early 1800s. He created these prints as reference material for china and fabric pattern designers.
His technique included for these prints were stipple engravings with original hand-coloring which was perfect for reproducing intricate details of botanicals. To create this image, he painted a plate with watercolor before making each impression. This produced a vibrant color quality that was pressed deep into the paper. Interestingly, his series of botanical plates were never bound into an actual book.
His works were shown went at the Academie Royale and the Academy of Saint-Luc in the 1800s, and today museums, from Boston to Cleveland and around the world, have his prints in their permanent collections.
While Prévost died around 1810 in France, his beautiful images have been reprinted for years.
PLATE SEVEN REPRINT
Without having the actual screen-used prop, it’s difficult to tell who made the reprinted image. Most likely it was Sidney Z. Lucas, a Czech-American (1896-1966), who operated several printing companies and galleries from 1928 through the 1960s in New York City. He was best known for importing, exhibiting and distributing all sorts of works including lithographs, prints, posters, woodblock prints and more.
In 1965, Lucas was appointed by surrealist Salvador Dali as his exclusive publisher of hand-signed, limited edition prints, etchings and lithographs in North America.
In Lucas’ print catalog, Prévost’s print seven was number 902. The version in the film is much smaller than the original image and it was framed with a white matte. I found several different versions of this print via online auction sites, each had a copyright – “Sidney Z. Lucas, New York City.”
APPEARANCES IN THE FILM
The print makes several appearances in the 1992 film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and The Missing Pieces released in 2014. It’s important to note that Laura Palmer’s bedroom in the film was a set build at City Studios in Van Nuys, California. The actual bedroom from the Palmer House in Everett, Washington is briefly shown in the Twin Peaks pilot but it’s missing the alcove which was created for the set. The print is also not seen in the pilot; it only appears in the film.
After Leland’s visit, we see the print as Laura lays down in her bed after hanging the framed picture given to her by the Old Lady and her grandson.
During this scene, Laura wakes up and looks at her bedroom door. The camera pans from Laura to the door and back again. The floral print is seen hanging above her nightstand.
As Laura gets out of bed and crosses to the bedroom door, the camera follows her, catching the framed print hanging on the wall.
The scene continues with Laura sleeping in her bedroom.
With the morning sun, Laura sits up in bed with her hand clenched looking at the framed image hanging on her wall. We get a great view of both the floral still life above her dresser and the print above her nightstand.
We catch the corner of this print from a scene in The Missing Pieces. Also note the heart hanging next to the print. Reminds me of the heart-shaped wreath found on the Palmer’s front door.
I love this article. I’ve always been fascinated with her bedroom. By coincidence, I had the same bedding as her -it was the Imogene print from Laura Ashley. I still have it carefully stored in my attic.