Under Napoleon III’s rule, Paris underwent a great rebuilding overseen by Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, which created grand avenues and lavish landmarks like the Paris Opera. Antique Napoleon III–style furniture was flamboyant and eclectic. It was also known as Second Empire style since it followed and referenced the Empire style of his uncle Napoleon I.
Developing from 1852–70, Napoleon III furniture was plush and ornate, matching the fashion for masked balls and socializing in salons. It borrowed freely from earlier French styles including Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI as well as aesthetics from around the world, from antiquity to Asian art. As writer Gustave Claudin remarked in 1867, the country’s architects worked in “a style which one would be tempted to call neo-Greco-Gothico-Pompadour-Pompeian.”
Napoleon III chairs were completely covered with velvet and lined with tassels; pouf footstools invited people to put up their feet. Sofas were upholstered with tapestries, and beds were adorned with gilt bronze and theatrical canopies. The addition of conservatories to homes led to new indoor-outdoor furniture, while the spirit of hygiene promoted by Baron Haussmann inspired bright, floral motifs.
Although the most ostentatious designs were for the elite, as seen in the Napoleon III apartments preserved in the Louvre, where red velvet, gilding and chandeliers create a cacophony of luxury, these trends influenced homes across classes as manufacturing made design increasingly accessible. Papier-mâché furniture allowed for elaborate shapes that would have been difficult to carve in wood. The malleable material was painted with chinoiserie patterns and decorative designs. It was mass-produced by factories such as Jennens and Bettridge with varnishing and mother-of-pearl inlays creating an effect reminiscent of Asian lacquer. (Surfaces that had been “japanned” — a specialty of Jennens and Bettridge — were intended to resemble lacquer work that was created in East Asia.)
Find a collection of antique Napoleon III decorative objects, tables, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by the 19th century, reflecting the trompe-l’œil and large-scale panoramic decorations typical of bourgeois interiors. Printed on antique-effect...
Canvas, Paper
Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Décor on Canvas, 19th-Century Inspired
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall décor is inspired by early nineteenth-century panoramas and reflects the look of antique-style panoramic wallpaper and trompe-l’œil decoration. Printed on antique...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas – Baroque Fresco
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by the 19th century and the Baroque style, reflecting the trompe-l’œil and large-scale panoramic decorations typical of bourgeois interiors. Pri...
Canvas, Paper
Draped Decorative Panoramic Wallpaper in Vintage-Style Paper, Taupe Color
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Draped decorative panoramic wallpaper in vintage-style paper, taupe color, designed for professional interior decoration. This wall panel is made of vintage-style paper, hand-crumple...
Canvas, Paper
Bouquet 19th Panoramic Decorative Panel in Vintage-Style
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Bouquet 19th panoramic decorative panel in vintage-style is produced using vintage-style paper, carefully printed, aged, and hand-crumpled before being mounted on canvas. Inspired by...
Canvas, Paper
$2,561 / item
Vintage-Style Panoramic Decorative Panel No.2
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Panoramic decorative panel in vintage-style paper No.2 is made from vintage-style paper, carefully printed, aged, and hand-crumpled before being mounted on canvas. Inspired by early ...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas – Baroque Interior
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by the 19th century and the Baroque style, reflecting the trompe-l’œil and large-scale panoramic decorations typical of bourgeois interiors. Pri...
Canvas, Paper
Draped Beige – Panoramic Wallpaper on Antique-Style Paper
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Draped Beige is inspired by the early 19th-century tradition of panoramic wallpapers, when mechanically produced decorative scenes sought to recreate the illusionistic charm of hand-...
Canvas, Paper
$2,386 / item
Panoramic Decorative Wall Panel in Antique Style
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic decorative wall panel in antique-style is produced on vintage-style paper, carefully printed, aged, and hand-crumpled before being mounted on canvas. Inspired by early...
Canvas, Paper
$2,223 / item
Panoramic Decorative Wall Panel in Antique-Style
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic decorative wall panel in Antique-style is produced on vintage-style paper, carefully printed, aged, and hand-crumpled before being mounted on canvas. Inspired by early...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Style Blue Panoramic on Aged Paper Mounted on Canvas N°1
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This blue panoramic wall décor is a paper piece inspired by the early nineteenth century. Made from aged-effect paper and mounted on canvas, it follows the aesthetic of trompe-l’œil ...
Canvas, Paper
Panoramic Floral Wall Décor on Canvas, 19th Century Style
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Panoramic floral wall décor inspired by the 19th century, printed on antique-style paper and mounted on canvas. This decorative panoramic wall covering draws on trompe-l’œil effects ...
Canvas, Paper
Bouquet 19th Panoramic Decorative Panel in Vintage-Style
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Bouquet 19th panoramic decorative panel in vintage-style is produced using vintage-style paper, carefully printed, aged, and hand-crumpled before being mounted on canvas. Inspired by...
Canvas, Paper
Vintage-Style Panoramic Decorative Panel Mounted on Canvas, 19th Century
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Panoramic decorative panel in vintage-style paper is made from vintage-style paper, carefully printed, aged, and hand-crumpled before being mounted on canvas. Inspired by early ninet...
Canvas, Paper
Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Décor on Canvas, 19th-Century Inspired
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall décor is inspired by early nineteenth-century designs and recalls the look of antique-style panoramic wallpaper and historical trompe-l’œil murals. Printed on ant...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by the 19th century and the Baroque style, reflecting the trompe-l’œil and large-scale panoramic decorations typical of bourgeois interiors. Pri...
Canvas, Paper
$3,784 / item
XIXth Century-Style XXL Panoramic Mural on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic mural is inspired by early 19th-century decorative boiseries, featuring faun motifs rendered in a trompe-l’œil spirit. Printed on antique-style paper, each piece is ca...
Canvas, Paper
Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas, 19th-Century Inspired
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This wall mural is inspired by the early nineteenth century and the Comédia del Arte style, reflecting the trompe-l’œil and large-scale panoramic decorations of bourgeois interiors. ...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by early 19th-century decorative traditions, echoing the trompe-l’œil and grand panoramic landscapes used in bourgeois interiors. Printed on ant...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by the 19th century and the Cornucopia style, reflecting the trompe-l’œil and large-scale panoramic decorations typical of bourgeois interiors. ...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by early 19th-century decorative traditions, echoing the trompe-l’œil and grand panoramic landscapes used in bourgeois interiors. Printed on ant...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas – Grand Baroque
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by the 19th century and the Baroque style, reflecting the trompe-l’œil and large-scale panoramic decorations typical of bourgeois interiors. Pri...
Canvas, Paper
$2,212 / item
19th-Century Style Panoramic on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This Faunes panoramic is inspired by early 19th-century wall decor, a period when panoramic wallpapers transformed interior decoration by imitating hand-painted trompe-l’œil murals. ...
Canvas, Paper
$2,212 / item
19th-Century Style Panoramic Mural on Canvas
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic mural, is inspired by early 19th-century decorative wall art, echoing the charm of hand-painted trompe-l’œil panels popular among artists of the era. Each piece is pri...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Style Blue Panoramic on Aged Paper Mounted on Canvas N°2
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This blue panoramic wall décor is a paper piece inspired by the early nineteenth century. Made from aged-effect paper and mounted on canvas, it follows the aesthetic of trompe-l’œil ...
Canvas, Paper
19th-Century Antique-Style Panoramic Wall Mural on Canvas – Baroque Interior
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic wall mural is inspired by the 19th century and the Baroque style, reflecting the trompe-l’œil and large-scale panoramic decorations typical of bourgeois interiors. Pri...
Canvas, Paper
Vintage-Style Panoramic Decorative Panel Mounted on Canvas 19th Century
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Panoramic decorative panel in vintage-style paper is made from vintage-style paper, carefully printed, aged, and hand-crumpled before being mounted on canvas. Inspired by early ninet...
Canvas, Paper
Panoramic Decorative Wall Panel in Vintage-Style Paper, No. 1
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
This panoramic decorative wall panel in vintage-style paper No.1 is produced on vintage-style paper, carefully printed, aged, and hand-crumpled before being mounted on canvas. Inspir...
Canvas, Paper
Draped Straw – Panoramic Wallpaper on Antique-Style Paper
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
The Draped Straw panoramic wallpaper draws inspiration from early 19th-century decorative arts, when mechanically produced wall scenes began to emulate the popular hand-painted tromp...
Canvas, Paper
Draped Decorative Panoramic Wallpaper in Vintage-Style Paper, Grey Color
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Draped decorative panoramic wallpaper in vintage-style paper, grey color, designed for professional interior decoration. This wall panel is made of vintage-style paper, hand-crumpled...
Canvas, Paper