Saturday, January 19, 2013

5Ws of... Louis XVI Style

 
 
What: The period of Louis XVI, King of France, also known as Louis Seize, is marked by revival of ancient classicism, severe rectangular lines and architectural ornament.  The character and function of individual pieces scarcely varied from the lines established under Louis Quinze.  Commodes, chairs and sofas, desks and tables merely assumed straight lines.  Fabrics were of small-patterned silks, (small patterned tapestries, and the whole range of Louis XV materials.  The vogue for printing cotton and linen create the toiles du Jouy.


Who: Jean Francois Riesener was the great master of the era.  Others such as David Roentgen, Georges Jacob and his son known as Jacob-Desmalter, and others also contributed to the signature style of the era.  Others, like Beneman and Weisweiler, worked so closely to the antique architectural ideal that they actually created the later Empire style.


Where: Though the style is most closely associated with France, it was greatly influenced by architectural unearthing of Pompeii and Herculaneum.  Ancient architectural forms became the basis of furniture design.


When: 1774 – 1793, the period associated with Louis XVI, is also known as The Classic Revival, or the first phase of Classicism.

Why: Marie-Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst): So, I hear you like to make keys as a hobby? Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman): Yes. Marie-Antoinette: And do you enjoy making keys? Louis XVI: Obviously.
Information: The Encyclopedia of Furniture.  Images: Furniture, Niermann Weeks; Fabric, Brunschwig; Interiors, Elle Décor; film still from “Marie-Antoinette.” Quote from “Marie-Antoinette,” 2006.   

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