court, and his stay in Germany greatly influenced his taste. His works
deal chiefly with ornamentation, but designs for stoves, terms, vases
and fountains are found among his drawings; and “niches in two Gothic
styles” were published about 1770.
Marillier (b. 1740, d. 1808) chiefly designed flowers, trophies and
cartouches. He also produced “new ornament composed in the most modern
taste to be made in gold, silver, copper and other metals.” These
include trimmings for commodes, buffets and other pieces of furniture,
besides lamps, candelabras, sconces for mantel-pieces, hearth furniture,
etc. Marillier’s work shows the best characteristics of the Louis XVI.
style.
Prieur’s taste led him to arabesques, but, among his large collection of
designs, one book is devoted to the decoration of apartments. Its six
plates comprise a round dining-room, drawing-room, bedroom, boudoir,
vestibule door and two ceilings.
A number of Beneman’s signed works exist, and are of massive and severe
form. His heavy commodes of rigid lines are ornamented with handsome
metal mounts; and many of his pieces announce the coming Empire style.
At Fontainebleau and the Louvre, are preserved many articles by Dugourc,
whose favourite ornament was the quiver.
Cauvet (b. 1731, d. 1788) designed ornaments, chiefly arabesques.
Typical trophies and arabesques are shown on Plate XLV. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5.
A great number of painters, decorators and designers devoted their
attention to the urn and vase forms: innumerable volumes entitled
“_vases composed in the antique taste_ or _suite des vases_,” were
published by Vien, Jacques, Saly, Watelet, Pierre, Wailly, La Live de
Juilly, Simon Challe, Saint Non, Petitot, Cauvet, Houdan, Beauvais,
Bertren, Gachet, La Rue, Bonnet, Joly, Duplessis, _fils_, Percenet,
Scheemakers, Moithey _l’ainé_, Nicolet, Dupuis, Courture _l’ainé_,
Marchand, Perault, Pannier, Doré and Normand.
Others gave great attention to designing iron-work for balconies, locks,
bolts and mounts for furniture; and even stoves received much
consideration. Bosse, for instance, gives eighteen models in his
_Collection des dessins de Poêles de formes antiques et modernes, de
l’invention et de la manufacture du sieur Olivier, rue de la Roquette,
faubourg Saint-Antoine_.
Other designers published books of arabesques, trophies, flowers and
other ornaments for the use of interior decorators. Among the most
interesting of these is Charton’s _Collection de douze cahiers de
plantes étrangères en fleurs, fruits, corail et coquillages_, published
in 1784.
One of the most prolific designers of textiles was Pillement (b. 1728;
d. 1808), and his plates show all the popular motives and subjects of
the day: branches, ribbons, stripes mingled with flowers, and those
patterns of winding ribbons alternating with straight stripes bespangled
with flowers called _Dauphines_, which were introduced at the time of
the Dauphin’s marriage with Marie Antoinette in 1770. From the time that
the Princesse de Lamballe assumed charge of the Queen’s household,
feathers were much used as a design for textiles; and the affected
pastoral life at Trianon gave rise to the gayest sort of materials in
which the winding stripes and interlacing ribbons are not only sprinkled
with flowers, but all the pastoral attributes. About 1780, the round
medallions came in and lasted till the beginning of the Nineteenth
Century. Of course, the growing taste for the antique had its effect
upon the decoration of materials, and the columns, volutes, lyres, heads
of Minerva and other Classic ornaments became more and more popular.
However, amidst all the changes, one thing persisted. This was the
stripe. At first, it was hidden under ribbons and flowers, branches and
feathers, but all the scattered ornaments became smaller and less
noticeable until they disappeared altogether, and left the dominating
stripe. Mercier wrote in 1788: “Everybody in the King’s cabinet looks
like a zebra.”
The Marquise de Pompadour, who favoured the new styles, was fond of the
stripe. Her bed at Marly was quite in advance of the style associated
with Marie Antoinette. It was draped in a rich silk composed of blue and
white stripes sprinkled with bouquets of flowers.
Typical coverings of the day are shown on Plates XLIV., XLV., and XLVI.
Fay was a famous designer of textiles, and wall paper which imitated
them in pattern and colour. The material known as _quinze seize_, a kind
of taffeta, whose name was derived from its width was much used for
curtains, and also a heavy silk, called _gros de Tours_. They remained
fashionable during the Empire. Another favourite material was the _toile
de Jouy_, which was a kind of printed linen or _cretonne_ made at the
factory of Jouy in Josas, which Oberkampt established in 1759. His
productions there became enormously popular, and the designs were
printed from the best talent that could be engaged,—such as Huet, for
instance.
It is singular that the two most famous cabinet-makers of the Louis XVI.
period were Germans,—Riesener and Roentgen. Riesener (b. about 1730)
came from his native town near Cologne to Paris, and, as we have seen,
worked in Œben’s shop. When the latter died in 1768, Riesener carried on
his business, and up to the outbreak of the Revolution, produced a great
deal of furniture. He became “_ébéniste du Roi_” and worked for the
Royal family until they left Versailles. Of course he began to work
under Louis XV., his most important production having been made for that
King himself (see page 213); but as the greater part of his work was
accomplished during the following reign, he is always classed among
artisans of the Louis XVI. period. Many of his pieces are from designs
by De Lalonde. They include tables, chairs, cabinets, chests-of-drawers
and corner-cupboards that are now prized. Riesener is particularly noted
for his marquetry. He was fond of inserting a panel of a single piece of
wood bearing in its centre a gay and graceful bunch of flowers, a
wreath, or trophy, and enriching the border with a diaper pattern of
three or four quiet colours. He often stamped his name upon the panel
itself. His favourite woods for inlaying were: tulip, rosewood, holly,
maple, laburnum, and purple-wood (_copaifera pubiflora_). Riesener also
made furniture, particularly chests-of-drawers and cabinets of
snake-wood, or other brown woods in which the grain is waved or curled,
and also worked in plain mahogany and letter-wood, depending upon
Gouthière’s metal mounts for the decorative effect. Fashion also forced
Riesener to introduce, somewhat against his will, painted porcelain into
his furniture in place of his inlaid panels. One of his productions of
this class appears on Plate XLVII. It is a _chiffonnier-secrétaire_ of
mahogany with ornaments of chiselled copper, and plaques of Sèvres
porcelain. The subjects of the latter are birds. The two lower plaques
are apparently held by knots of ribbon made of copper chased and gilt. A
little open-worked gallery runs around the back and sides of the top,
the front moulding of which is ornamented with the festoon. The commode
on Plate XLVIII. is also one of Riesener’s works.
David Roentgen is often known as “David.” He was born near Coblentz, and
seems to have kept his shop there, visiting Paris to dispose of his
wares; and, obtaining the interest of Marie Antoinette, he established a
shop in Paris. He introduced a new kind of marquetry, in which the
shadows and shading were actually done by pieces of wood; and, as a
journalist of the period said, was done like “stone mosaic.” The woods
he used for his marquetry work were lighter and gayer than Riesener’s.
He employed various white woods, such as pear, lime, and other
light-coloured woods, and frequently tinted them other shades by burning
them, or by chemical processes. Like Riesener, he worked also in plain
mahogany and letter-wood, and also veneered furniture with these woods.
His productions were also brightened by Gouthière’s chased and gilt
handles and key-plates. Roentgen was particularly clever about
introducing mechanical devices into his furniture. His greatest period
of activity was between 1780 and 1790.
Among other noted cabinet-makers were Leleu, Saunier, Carlin (who made
many articles for Marie Antoinette), Levasseur, Avril, Pafrat (who
worked with Carlin), Philippe-Claude Montigny (who copied the works of
Boulle), Benman, Stockel, Weisweiler, and Schwerdfeger. Quite a colony
of German cabinet-makers, attracted by the success of Riesener and
Roentgen, as well as the hope of gaining the interest of the young
Austrian Queen, settled in the faubourg Saint-Antoine.
Although some of the beds popular during the last reign survived,
particularly the alcove and niche beds, many new varieties were
introduced, and the books of such designers as Ranson, Delafosse, and
Salembier, contain many drawings of beds. The canopy generally becomes
smaller and smaller, until it dwindles into a crown or ring to hold the
curtains, and is known as _lit à couronne_,—a variety that continued
popular throughout the Empire. The great four-post bed and the _lit en
housse_, occasionally recorded in inventories and sales, are survivals
of the past; most of the new beds take some form of the sofa. The
favourite _lit à l’anglaise_ is really nothing but a square sofa. Indeed
the dividing line between the beds and sofas is not clearly marked, for
the “bed with three backs,” as they still defined it, is draped and
furnished with the customary two bolsters and a decorative canopy and
curtains. The distinction was not very rigidly observed even at the
time. For example, in 1773 we read: “For sale at M. Carré’s, _rue
d’Enfer_ a _lit à l’anglaise_ of yellow damask that forms a sopha 5 feet
wide and 6 feet long; the frame of carved walnut.” In 1785, “a cane bed
with three backs that may serve as an ottoman in a summer drawing-room,”
is offered for sale.
Columns rarely appear now, and when they do, they are usually light.
Sometimes, indeed, they are of iron, and covered with the same material
as the curtains. It is preferred to place the bed sideways (_vu de
face_) against the wall. In this case, the headboard and footboard are
of equal height and exactly alike. (See Plates XLIV. and XLV.) Often the
headboard and footboard are covered with the curtain-material; they are
also left plain and printed, or lacquered or gilded. Natural wood
ornamented with bronze gilt _or moulu_ decorations is used. The use of
veined woods gradually did away with the practice of covering the head
and footboards. When the headboard was higher than the footboard, the
head was placed against the wall (_vu de pied_), or it stood in the
corner. Muslin, Persian, silk, and other materials were used for
draperies, and these were trimmed with bows of ribbon, fringe, cords and
tassels. The curtains and counterpane were subject to a formal
arrangement of loops and festoons, and feathers still decorated the
canopy. Among the most popular varieties were _lit à la Polonaise_, _à
la Turque_, _à la Chinoise_, _à tombeau_, _à double tombeau_, and _à
l’anglaise_. There was another new bed called _à la dauphine_, which did
not long remain in fashion. Ranson designed one in 1780. This was a _lit
à impériale_ or _à dôme_, which was light and rather graceful. Instead
of being supported by columns the dome was held by an iron armature. The
_lit à l’Italienne_, so named on account of the draping of the curtains,
was very popular in 1775; and the _lit à couronne_ had a round or oval
canopy, surmounted by a festoon drapery, trimmed with ball fringe. Two
curtains, similarly trimmed, fell from the canopy on either side of the
bed to the floor.
[Illustration: PLATE XLV]
The forms, colours, and styles of the beds in use during the Louis XVI.
period may be gathered from the following list: _lit à housse_, crimson
velvet, trimmed and embroidered with gold, Maréchal Duc d’Estrées, 1771;
_lit à la polonaise_, blue damask and _moiré_, Boucher (the painter),
1771; _lit à housse_, green damask, Madame Favart, 1772; bed of
embroidered muslin, the Duc de Bouillon, 1772; _lit de Perse_, white
background with various cut-out decorations, Duchesse de Brissac, 1773;
bed of Indian damask, Chevalier d’Hestin, 1775; crimson velvet with gold
braid, Duke of Saint-Aignan, 1776; yellow satin embroidered with gold
flowers, Marquise de Courcillon, 1777; Indian damask, Mme. le president
Talon, 1779; bright yellow damask (worth 24,000 _livres_), unknown,
1779; crimson damask, Marquise de Saint Georges, 1779; and crimson and
white _moiré_, la Comtesse de Bérulle, 1779. In 1780, crimson seems to
be the favourite hue, but there are also fine beds of blue and white
damask, crimson and white brocade, and yellow damask, and in 1781–1782,
yellow and white damask, green damask, blue damask, blue and white
watered silk, blue and white brocade, Persian, tapestry and blue satin
embroidered with gold and silk. Yellow camlet and damask in three
colours occur in 1784, and in 1787 Oriental stuffs and imitations of
them are the rage. In 1787, the Marquis de Ménars had a beautiful bed of
embroidered blue _moiré_; the Duc d’Orléans, a _lit à la duchesse_ of
flowered silver velvet, trimmed with gold braid and fringes; and the
financier, Beaujon, a large canopy bed hung with Gobelin tapestries.
In addition to these, we may call attention to the following
folding-beds: a “_lit d’ante-chambre_ in the form of a secretary” was
offered at the sale of the Marquise de Vigean’s effects in 1783; and at
the sale of Mme. Le Gros’s articles in 1784 “a bed of crimson damask
enclosed in an _armoire en secrétaire_.” A French newspaper also offered
for sale in 1785 “a pretty bed enclosed in a secretary made of mahogany
with trimmings of gilded _or moulu_, 7 feet high and 3½ feet wide,
proper for both city and country”; and four years earlier a “bed in the
form of a commode and garnished with copper” was also offered for sale.
The lower drawing on Plate XLIV. represents a _lit de repos_, or
“_causerie_,” such as was used at Trianon. The wood is walnut, gilded
all over. A carved garland of flowers decorated the top of the head and
foot-board, and the grooved columns are surmounted by a carved
pineapple. The drapery is a light Florentine silk, green in hue, trimmed
with cords and tassels and fringe of white, green and pink.
The bed on Plate XLV. is from a water-colour design by Rousseau de la
Rottière.
The window-curtains and draperies have also changed, to be in sympathy
with the furniture. They are far more studied than ever before, and it
is the cutter whose abilities are required rather than the graceful
draper. Every bit of material must count, and the shape is determined
upon by the scissors. The straight line is insisted upon, and festoon,
scarf and lambrequin are combined in a precise and formal manner. When a
lambrequin is cut in denticulated ornaments, sometimes the teeth end in
a point, and sometimes they are rounded. The _cantonnière_ has entirely
disappeared, and the scarf is now an obligatory accompaniment to bed
curtains and window-curtains. The curtains are heavily wadded and lined,
and beneath them thin muslin or taffeta curtains hang. The draperies are
trimmed with braids, cords, fringes, small bell-shaped balls, and long
or short but rather slender tassels.
Gilded and lacquered cornices are used, and cornices of white and gilt
whose flowers and other ornaments are painted in appropriate colours.
The latter style was known as _camaïeux_. On Plate XLIV., Nos. 3 and 4,
specimen cornices with the correct drapery are shown. The central
ornament of each is a composition of garlands, quivers and burning
torches. Another arrangement of window drapery appears in Plate XLIII.
The lyre clock (No. 3, Plate XLVII.), and the screen (No. 4, Plate
XLVIII.), are also typical examples.
The commode becomes more popular than ever. The _bombé_ commode of the
preceding reign is succeeded by a piece of furniture in which the
straight line predominates, and which usually stands on grooved feet.
Some commodes have doors and others long drawers, with two simple
handles on either side of the key-plate. When five drawers are placed
one above the other, the feet naturally become lower than those of the
Louis XV. period. Commodes were made of plain mahogany, amaranth and
violet-wood. Marquetry work gradually yielded to plain panels bordered
with a delicately chased bronze moulding, and the top was covered with a
marble slab. Doors and drawers, however, were sometimes ornamented with
inlays of flowers or trophies in the centre of the panel. Very few
lacquered commodes were made. The commode on Plate XLVIII. is a
transitional piece by Riesener. It is of marquetry, ornamented with
chased gilt bronze mounts. The legs show the Louis XV. influence. Above
it, on the same Plate, is another piece that retains sympathy with the
former period. This is a “demi-toilette.” Its curving hind’s feet are
ornamented with a bronze gilt acanthus, and delicate metal-work
decorates the moulding above the three drawers. (See detail No. 5).
The _chiffonnier_, or tall case of drawers, occurs in the inventories of
this reign. It was used in the dressing and bedrooms.
The console, or pier-table, still holds its place under the mirror
between the windows. It bears little resemblance to the superbly carved
and decorative console of the former reign. It is composed of straight
lines, a straight grooved leg, or a leg grooved and tapered, as shown on
Plate XLVIII., No. 1. The ornaments are slight, merely a little gilded
metal gallery around the top and base, a small ornament, a rosette or
trophy, in the centre under the slab, and sometimes a little decoration
on the legs. The straining-rails sometimes unite to form a sort of
basket or tray to hold flowers or a piece of porcelain, and sometimes
the legs are united by a solid piece of wood, as appears on Plate
XLIII., which also shows the favourite style of standing upon it a
single Sèvres vase. The console was not only made of mahogany and brass
work, but it was frequently painted in a light colour. Grey or celadon
was a favourite hue. At the sale of the Versailles furniture, during the
Terror, “two consoles, painted in pearl-grey, elegantly ornamented with
carving and having very handsome slabs of Carara marble,” were sold.
[Illustration: PLATE XLVI]
A console in which the characteristics of the approaching Empire style
are evident is shown as No. 5 on Plate XLVII. In the original, a double
eagle sits upon the straining-rail directly below the chubby cherub. The
eagle is accompanied by a branch of laurel. It will not be long before
the classic head of the term leg is succeeded by the sphinx.
Typical drawing-room tables are shown on Plate XLIII. It is very rarely
that a table of gilded wood is met with in a drawing-room or _petit
salon_. Solid or veneered tables of rosewood, amaranth, violet-wood or
mahogany, decorated with brass-work or gilded copper, are the
favourites. Sometimes the top consists of a marble slab, and sometimes a
square of velvet or cloth is framed in a border of wood ornamented with
a metal moulding; but the table-cloth is rigorously avoided.
In the boudoir, tables painted and lacquered in the Vernis Martin style
are met with. In the boudoir as well as in the drawing-room, the “flower
table” also occurs. This must have been a _jardinière_, because Percier
uses the word _table à fleurs_ for his _jardinières_. Growing flowers
were greatly preferred to cut flowers for decoration, and were placed on
tables or stands in vases and baskets made of gilded metal or gilded
osiers. The flower table, however, was arranged purposely for growing
plants. It resembled the pier-table, and was often ornamented with
porcelain plaques. In 1777, a Parisian advertisement reads: “For sale, a
beautiful _table à fleurs_, now being made, of satin-wood lined with
lead, the four feet in scrolls ornamented with shoes gilded _or moulu_,
as also the rings that form the handles; with a drawer also lined with
lead to drain the water.”
Writing-tables with desks that lift up and down at pleasure to any
height required, by means of mechanical devices, were also placed in the
boudoir. Work-tables were sometimes combined with the writing-tables.
Numerous kinds of card-tables were in use and tables called “_de
bouillote_,” which were round, folding or fixed, and stood on four feet.
The extension dining-table, mounted on four, six or eight feet and
opening at the middle, appears in this period, and a very useful article
is introduced into the dining-room. This is the _table servante_, a
species of dumb-waiter, with drawers and shelves arranged in tiers and
supported on four feet. Some of the drawers are large enough to hold
bottles or a carafe, while others are intended for corkscrews and small
articles. The feet, which are grooved, are mounted on casters. This
piece of furniture is represented in the caricatures by Charlet,
Grandville and H. Monnier.
A kindred article is represented in the upper right-hand corner of Plate
XLVIII. This is a breakfast table made by Carlin and Patrat. It is now
in the South Kensington Museum.
Desks or bureaux, like the commodes, became heavier and approached the
sarcophagus in shape. The rolltop cylinder was the most popular design.
One of these is represented on Plate XLVII., No. 4. The cabinet was also
in use, and sometimes it was constructed especially for the corner of a
room. A corner cabinet is shown on Plate XLVII., No. 1, with its panel
inlaid with a floral design, and its grooved column at the side that is
of the vase shape, and supports a small urn with a burning torch. It was
considered proper to place a vase on the top of the cabinet. The tall
vase was greatly used as a decoration, and was placed not only on
cabinet and pier-table, but a pedestal was frequently provided for it.
(See Plate XLIII.)
Another specimen of a cylinder desk is represented on Plate XLIV. It is
in the style of Riesener, and is made of mahogany with delicately chased
metal trimmings. The frieze is a combination of scrolls, griffins and
leaves; the panels of the doors and the cylinder are also bordered with
metal; the foot is encased in a metal leaf; and the key-plates are
ornately worked. The legs and pilasters are grooved. The top is covered
with a marble slab surmounted by an open-worked metal gallery.
The seats differ greatly from those of the former period. In these, the
curved outline entirely vanishes. During the transitional period, the
feet are of the console outline, ending in a scroll or shell, or peg-top
shape that succeeded the leaf shoe; and before the medallion was used
for the back of the chair frame, the violin shape was employed. The next
change was a sort of projecting square, then the shape of the handle of
a basket, until the form is reached that shows a perfect square between
two straight columns, each ending in a steeple ornament and making a
kind of frame for the covering. (See Plates XLVI. and XLVIII.) The small
arm-chairs were called _cabriolets_, but the frames of each were
similarly ornamented with beads, winding ribbons, laurel leaves, etc.
The richest chairs had a carved and gilt ornament in the centre of the
top rail, usually a bow of ribbon, a bouquet of flowers, or a garland of
small blossoms or leaves.
Plain woods, such as mahogany, walnut, or amaranth, are often used for
the frames, but far more universal is the use of wood carved and gilded,
or carved and painted according to fancy. Some mahogany and rosewood
arm-chairs are brightened by the application of chased and gilded bronze
ornaments. The upholsterers of the day furnished the chairs with round,
flattened or half round cushions. The projection of the back cushion was
regulated by the material with which it was covered, so that the latter
should be exhibited to its best advantage. Many arm-chairs had removable
cushions that fit into the frame of the chair. The cushions were
sometimes tufted.
[Illustration: PLATE XLVII]