This is an installment of Visual Studies, a series that explores how images move through and shape culture.

Lately the American president has been spending quite a bit of time redecorating the Oval Office. The results can only be called a gilded rococo hellscape. If our leader’s appearance is a depiction of the country …

Is this us?

Since the start of President Trump’s Oval Office decorating spree in February, there has been a steady torrent of articles condemning his design choices. And to be sure, the redesign has been … significant.

There is a parade of golden objects that march across the mantel, relegating the traditional Swedish ivy to a greenhouse. Gilded Rococo wall appliqués, nearly identical to the ones at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, are stuck to the fireplace and office walls with the same level of aesthetic consideration a child gives her doll’s face before covering it in nail polish.