Marotte

The cover seemed to sum it all up—a depressed jester gazing forlornly at his ‘marotte’ as if desperate for inspiration.

Source: wiktionary

They were a substitute for real tapestries, which could not be obtained in sufficient numbers, or for which there was neither the time nor the skill to embroider them with images appropriate to the occasion. It is true that this view contradicts that of Raoul-Rouchette, who remains faithful to his marotte, which admits only paintings on wood, because they are called tabulae.

Source: wiktionary

During the summer Henry had been on the best of terms with his chief, but he had been first irritated, and then alarmed at Picquart’s fixation on Esterhazy, his ‘marotte’.

Source: wiktionary