Set of 2 Chairs Louis XV style in White Bronze Clad, Club Chair by P. Mathieu
By Stephanie Odegard Collection
Located in New York, NY
Louis XV Set of 2 Chairs is designed by the renowned designer Paul Mathieu. He chose the name “Louise” when he created his more feminine version of Louis XV furniture and this Elegant Club Chair. The characteristic cabriole leg, curving outward at the knee and inward towards the foot in an "S" shape was born during Louis XV period. It is during the same era that English furniture makers produced the Queen Anne and Chippendale styles.
The style of 18th-century French furniture was guided by the court. When Louis XV, who reigned from 1715–74, focused royal life on the smaller salons of Versailles rather than its grand chambers, it transformed the aesthetics away from the imposing and angular furniture that characterized the style of Louis XIV. A broader focus on comfort and more delicate forms define antique Louis XV furniture, with nature-inspired carvings, wood inlays, curved cabriole legs, asymmetrical shapes and rounded oval seat backs. The furnishings changed throughout the king’s life, as he ascended to the throne as a child and then grew to establish his own tastes.
Pieces like the bergère, an upholstered armchair with a wide cushion that fit the flowing dresses in fashion at the time, reflected this more informal court. Introduced at the start of Louis XV’s reign, bergère chairs in this style were deeper and broader than other chairs of the period.
Louis XV tapestries and carpets tended to be floral and colourful, and design elements were borrowed from Asia. Dutch-born cabinetmaker Bernard van Risenburgh brought lacquer techniques influenced by Japan and China into his luxuriously made furniture. Along with its fine details, the furniture of the era also featured new innovations including mechanical devices. Jean François Oeben, a royal cabinetmaker, created such intricate pieces as a mechanical table for Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress. It involved a sliding top and a writing surface that extended from its marquetry panels.
During the later years of Louis XV’s reign, there was a shift from the ostentatious rocaille style, part of the exuberantly decorative Rococo movement in Europe for which designers such as Nicolas Pineau and Juste-Aurèle Meissonier are known. The style under Louis XVI would return to boxier forms, but with a neoclassical touch inspired by the ancient world.
The curved legs and side arms of this exceptionally elegant chair are hand carved from solid pieces of teak. Pattern makers trace and cut complex forms that will cover the chair in a skin of copper or purest silver (assayed at 96% purity, beyond sterling at 92.5%). The metal finishes will tarnish over time. Regular non-abrasive household metal polishes can be used to restore the original lustre.
Set of 2 Chairs Louis XV style in White Bronze Clad, Club Chair by Paul Mathieu...
Category
2010s Louis XV Indian Chairs
MaterialsMetal, Bronze, Sheet Metal
