Directoire furniture, Consulate, Empire, Restoration, Louis-Philippe, Napoleon III, 1880s

Directoire furniture, Consulate, Empire, Restoration, Louis-Philippe, Napoleon III, 1880s

The essentials of French furniture heritage

Massin Editions 2010

Under the Directory regime, the innovations that had emerged in the last years of the reign of Louis XVI continued. The Greek and Etruscan style was complemented by reminders of Roman grandeur and a better knowledge of Egypt. The dominant inspiration for the Consulate style remained Antiquity, with more specific references to Egypt. The Empire style, clearly influenced by Napoleon I, consisted of massive and imposing elements. During the Restoration, architects and furniture makers drew inspiration from the neoclassicism that had become established in France at the end of the reign of Louis XV. This taste for the past was increasingly evident during the time of Louis-Philippe, first for the Middle Ages, then for the styles of the Renaissance in the 18th century. The second half of the 19th century was marked by the height of luxury. Under Napoleon III, the trend was to appropriate the ancient or national past by giving it a dimension specific to the 19th century. The 1880s witnessed the affirmation of a "teaching" approach in decorative designs. Art Nouveau was slowly making its appearance. The works in the "Le meubles français" collection, under the direction of Claude-Paule Wiegandt, were entrusted to authors whose training and functions within museums led them to specialize in this field. Each work places the furniture in its period, evokes the setting for which it was designed, studies its manufacturing method as well as influences from elsewhere.