French Baroque
1. Please find another piece of French Baroque furniture not shown in the lecture (at the Getty, the Louvre, Versailles, etc.) and provide a thumbnail image and a link to the website where it appears. What elements make it typical of French Baroque furniture? What symbolism is found in this piece? (Be careful to check the date to ensure that you have chosen a piece that is within the French Baroque time frame.)
2. Please find two examples of French Baroque fabric that would be appropriate for an interior for Louis XIV. Include images and the website(s) where you found the fabrics.
Sample Answer
French Baroque
Andre Charles Boulle was one of the greatest on ebinestes inlaying ebony timber with tortoise crust, brass, and additional metals till the piece looked like a luminous mosaic. He also adorned his compositions with the chiseled mount of ormolu and bronze and gilt curios. He used granite and marble for table and console surface and excellent tapestry for upholstering. All these combinations created a fashion in ideal accord with display and impressive magnificence of the baroque (Louis XIV age French Baroque Furniture, Louis XIV Furniture, n.d.).
Boulle Tables, 1701
http://www.furniturestyles.net/european/french/images/1701-boulle-table.jpg
Elements which make the Furniture Typical of French Baroque Furniture
This age was characterized by courteous finery and opulence, of luxurious, enormous furniture, suitable to the palace and salon and where it is used today for big luxuriantly furnished rooms. The tables varied considerably during the baroque period, and most of them were made of gilded wood, oak, or walnut. This is one of the characteristics of the featured tables. French baroque furniture had plenty of details, and the designs featured an exuberant and exaggerated decoration (Smardzewski, 2015). These characteristics are demonstrated in these tables which have plenty of details on both the top and the bottom parts. Other features are plenty of curves to give a sense of dynamism. The four legs are the only elements touching the floor, which was also a standard feature for tables, cabinets, and tall furniture of this era. The furniture also seems to have bronze and copper paintings that were standard for the French baroque furniture.
Symbolism in this Furniture
The lavish carvings and bronze paintings symbolize richness.
French Baroque Fabric
Calico- this is a generic term for cotton from India named after Calicut Calcutta.
http://char.txa.cornell.edu/ppbaroque_files/frame.htm
Silk
The silk industry in Lyon expanded. After 1640 Lyon became dominant in the European silk market. The French established tariffs to exclude silk imports (History of Textile Design: Baroque (1620-1715, n.d.).
http://char.txa.cornell.edu/ppbaroque_files/frame.htm
References
- French Baroque Furniture, Louis XIV Furniture. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.furniturestyles.net/european/french/baroque.html
- History of Textile Design: Baroque (1620-1715). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://char.txa.cornell.edu/ppbaroque_files/frame.htm
- Smardzewski, J. (2015). The History of Furniture Construction. In Furniture Design (pp. 1-45). Springer, Cham.
