This catalogue covers some one hundred exceptional pieces of furniture of particular importance, illustrating the evolution of luxury furniture in France from the first half of the 17th century, with the birth of cabinetmaking, until the French Revolution.
It is preceded by a history of 18th-century...
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This catalogue covers some one hundred exceptional pieces of furniture of particular importance, illustrating the evolution of luxury furniture in France from the first half of the 17th century, with the birth of cabinetmaking, until the French Revolution.
It is preceded by a history of 18th-century furniture studies and divides furniture into four chapters: the 17th century, the Régence and Louis XV styles, the Greek or Transition style and the Louis XVI style. The characteristics of each period are analysed in an introduction. The items selected, which come from public and private collections from France and abroad, are by the greatest names of the day: André Charles Boulle, Antoine Robert Gaudreaus, Charles Cressent, Bernard II Vanrisamburgh, Jean François Oeben, Jean Henri Riesener and Georges Jacob.
This furniture provides an illustration of the shapes, techniques, materials, decors and colours that were in style, giving us insights into the connoisseurs who ordered them. The creators had a taste for comfort and innovation, forerunners of the approach of today's designers. Each item has a historical and stylistic note indicating its importance. The catalogue comes with a biographical inventory of the joiners and cabinetmakers who produced the furniture.
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