LITTLE ILLUSTRATED BOOKS ON OLD FRE N CH FU RN ITU RE I I F R E N U R N I T U R E . C H F U N DE R LOU I S XI V FRE NCH F UR NI T UR E E C U I U E I N T H E MI E I . FR N H F RN T R DDL AGE S A N D UND E R LOUI S XI I I FRE N CH FU RN I TU RE UND E R LOU I S XI V FRE N CH F URN I TURE U ND E R LOU I S XV FRE N CH FURN I TU RE U ND E R LOU I S XVI A N D T H E E MP I RE E N G L I SH FURNI T URE (Prevz ously ja u blis hed) E G I FU I U E U E TH E I . N L SH RN T R ND R TU D ORS A N D STUART S E G I FU I U E OF T H E UE I I . N L SH RN T R Q E N ANN E PE RI OD I I E G I F R I U E OF TH E CH I PPE N I . N L SH U N T R DALE PE R I OD E G I FU I U E OF T H E S E O I V. N L SH RN T R H RAT N PE RI OD E a ch v olum e pro fu s ely illus tra te d with full-pa g e re pro du c tio ns a nd c o lo u re d fro ntispie c es wn 8 1 m Clo t/z rice d Cro 3. 6 net , , p 4 . W H LONDON : LL AM N MANN L . I I , EI E , TD L RG E ARM-C I R C OV E RE I N WV A HA D OOL VE L ET ( E nd o f the Lo u is XI V s tyle ) LITTLE ILLUSTRATE D BOOKS ON FRE NCH FURNITURE II FRE N C H FURN I T URE UN DE R L OUI S X I V BY ROGE R DE FELICE T RANSLAT E D B Y F M AT KI N S N . O LON DON M C M XXI I E E LTD WILLIAM H IN MANN , . INTRODUCTION : SOM E SETS OF FURNITURE UNDER LOUIS XI V T H E Louis XIV style is one that chance has e m n is ua to rz e L o u . dowed with a Sple did name , Q n a . Those so orous , sumptuous syll bles , as rich as the gold of the G a llery of Mirrors at a Vers illes, are they not in themselves completely expressive ? If the Louis XV style wa s to e x a n press whole society of voluptuous refi ement , the Louis XIV style is verily the style of the n w a s a x Ki g . It to s tisfy his taste , to e press a n d c his mind, to titillate his pride to pro laim hi s glory that Le Brun and Le Pa u t re devis e d a a their pompous decor tions , th t Perrault and M a n s a rd marshalle d their colum ns a nd raised n their cupolas , that Le Nostre pla ted his alleys n a on li es meted out by stretched cords , th t the l n n n Ke lers fou ded bro ze , that Dome ico Cucci a a n a and Cl ude B lli chased precious metals , th t A ndre- Cha rles Boulle cunningly wedded brass a nd W n tortoise shell ith ebo y in the Louvre , a nd at the Gobelins the la pida ries matched the n F r n e n - sto es of lo e c , the cabi et makers put n n together their i genious cabi ets , the silver smiths m a de t a bles a nd pots for ora nge trees out r of solid silver , the tapestry worke s wove their enormous hangings stitch by stitch , while at v i I N T R O D UC T I O N Tourlavill e the glass workers made mirrors a nd n n larger clearer tha those of Ve ice . Whole volum e s might be writt e n o n the Louis XV a nd Louis XVI styles without even a e mention of the princes whose names th y bear , but this would be qui te Impossible with the I n style we are about to discuss this little book . Although he had not , whatever that sharp “ n tongued Saint Simon may say, a mi d rather ’ w a s below the average , Louis the Great quite ordin ary in intelligence a nd was furthermore x e tremely ignorant , two defects that he redeemed in the exercise of his vocation as king by dint of i good will , appl cation , and hard work ; he was —a nd not , as we would say , much of an artist he C learly proved this on the day when , in order to n n remedy the distressed state of his fi a ces , he decided with equal absurdity and ma gnanimit y to melt down all his prodigious store of plate , whose bullion value was nothing in comp a rison I t s a a n with artistic v lue , while he kept his di mo ds — n n but he insisted on decidi g everythi g , and always made some alteration in the designs submitted to him . He had of course his own n perso al taste , which Colbert consulted and BrIin which Le , who shared it , contrived to impose upon the artists of every kin d who n n worked under his absolute domi atio . What S a s u e r- m a n was peci lly dear to this p , who, as “ e a Mlle . de Scud ry says , when playing billi rds retained the deme a nour befitting the master of ” l the world , was majesty and grandeur a lied I N T R O D U C T I O N with sumptuousness ; a n d also symmetry and regularity ; qualities which , as we shall see , are the fundamental characteristics of the style to which he has given his name . a nd The best artists craftsmen , then, worked to the orders of the King, who continually needed new furniture for his royal mansions - F of the Louvre , Saint Germain , ontainebleau , Marly ; they worked for the princes of the n a blood , for the Mi isters of St te . This engrossed all, or nearly all, their output , they were taken away from their guilds and brigaded at the Gobelins or the Louvre , where they were sub d e c t e . j to a rigid discipline The great nobles , n the wealthy fina ciers , the high magistrates , imitated the Court according to their means , but were oblige d to fa ll back upon second rank purveyors and on less precious materials . Their furniture is none the less in the same style a ll as that made for the King, blazing with magnificence . If we come down one degree lower , and try to make acquaintance with the homes of the well to -do bourgeoisie or gentlemen with good broad n lands , as they are disclosed in the i ventories made after their owners ’ death and in the reports fi x on the af ing of seals on property, which inve ntories have been preserved in great numbers a nd a nd in some cases published , are the most n authentic sources of informatio on this subject , do we always find furniture of the Louis XIV style ? We come too often on tables or arm I N T R O D U C T I O N ' chairs a: pilz e rs to rs or (2 6 0 10 72 72 63 tors es to feel n quite certain of it . In reality the joi ers continued generally to make for what was called ' ‘ 1 la n obles s e dzsz z n u ée g , people in military or C ivil employment , rich traders , propertied middle ” Cl fu rni ass folk, plain undisguised Louis XIII e n i n ture, ev down to the t me whe the suppler Shapes of the Regen cy and the Louis XV period n were imposed upo them . Better still, in more o ne in n than region , but especially Guie ne and n n in Gascony , they co ti ued throughout the n a whole of the eightee th century to m ke , along side of the great Louis XV li n e n cupboa rds with S- c shaped pediment , the upboards with four doors with panels decorated with dia mond ” n n 2 poi ts , know as cabinets in those provinces . One e or two of these inventories , which conv y a n re a a so rich impression of vivid lity, will llow us to penetrate into the homes of this middle class of the seventeenth century . Shall we first of all enter the house of Messire L a a t r a - n a Jean de y , forme Tre surer Ge er l of the ’ ? h e King s Household T is is in the rue de Cl ry, - a ll close to the Porte Saint Denis , which is still 1 686 W .