Illustrated History of Furniture: From the Earliest to the Present TimeLitchfield, Frederick
History
Illustrated History of Furniture: From the Earliest to the Present Time
Litchfield, Frederick
Furniture -- History
The furniture was made to agree with this decorative treatment: couches
and easy chairs were designed in more sweeping curves and on a smaller
scale, the woodwork wholly or partially gilt and upholstered, not only
with the tapestry of Gobelins or Beauvais, but with soft colored silk
brocades and brocatelles; light occasional chairs were enriched with
mother-of-pearl or marqueterie; screens were painted with love scenes and
representations of ladies and gentlemen who look as if they passed their
entire existence in the elaboration of their toilettes or the exchange of
compliments; the stately cabinet is modified into the _bombé_ fronted
commode, the ends of which curve outwards with a graceful sweep; and the
bureau is made in a much smaller size, more highly decorated with
marqueterie, and more fancifully mounted to suit the smaller and more
effeminate apartment. The smaller and more elegant cabinets, called
_Bonheur du jour_ (a little cabinet mounted on a table); the small round
occasional table, called a _gueridon_; the _encoignure_, or corner
cabinet; the _étagère_, or ornamental hanging cabinet, with shelves; the
three-fold screen, with each leaf a different height, and with shaped top,
all date from this time. The _chaise à porteur_, or Sedan chair, on which
so much work and taste were expended, became more ornate, so as to fall in
with the prevailing fashion. Marqueterie became more fanciful.
[Illustration: Console Table, Carved and Gilt. (_Collection of M. Double,
Paris._)]
The Louis Quinze cabinets were inlaid, not only with natural woods, but
with veneers stained in different tints; and landscapes, interiors,
baskets of flowers, birds, trophies, emblems of all kinds, and quaint
fanciful conceits are pressed into the service of marqueterie decoration.
The most famous artists in this decorative woodwork were Riesener, David
Roentgen (generally spoken of as David), Pasquier. Carlin, Leleu, and
others, whose names will be found in a list in the appendix.
[Illustration: Louis XV. Carved And Gilt "Fauteui." Upholstered with
Beauvais tapestry. Subject from La Fontaine's Fables.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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