DOI Heft:
The International Studio (June, 1908)
DOI Artikel:Tiffany, Joseph Burr: Period pianos for period rooms - Louis XIV, XV and VXI periods
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.28254#0514
Period Pianos for Period Rooms
plexity. One style so overlaps
another that we find pieces fre-
quently described as being of
“the end of the reign of Louis
XV or the beginning of that
of Louis XVI.” In the same
way there is little distinction
between the late productions
of Louis XVI and those of the
Directoire, and still less be-
tween these and the First
Empire. It was not until the
latter periods of Louis XV and
Louis XVI that artists awoke
to the advisability of ensuring
the association of their names
with their productions. This
practice reveals evidences of a
subdivision of labor, and we
find panels signed by one artist
and used by another in the
construction of his product.
The bronze workers did not
follow this custom, and except
for such well-known names as Coffiere, Meissonier,
Gouthiere, we are left in ignorance of the men who
wrought the exquisitely chased goldlike mounts
which adorned most of the furniture of the day.
In Louis XIV’s reign, a period of seventy-two
years, decoration reached the height of sumptuous
richness and detail reached the limit of luxuriance.
The Regency, or Louis XV monarchy, covered a
LOUIS XIV PIANO,
GREEN AND GOLD
VERNIS MARTIN
STEINWAY & SONS
LOUIS XV PIANO
MAHOGANY, GOLD ORMOLU MOUNTS
period of but eight years, yet the changes that were
wrought in the decorative arts in so short a time
would not be thought possible. These comprised
the desertion of the heavy, sumptuous splendor in
favor of the chaste beauty of simplicity and the
dainty delicacy of the boudoir. The huge designs
were replaced by the smaller and more pleasing pat-
terns of airiness which took the form and floral
grace of the softly waving flow-
ers in the terraced gardens.
The initiative thus supplied
proceeded apace. This was a
pretty time and gay, when soft,
graceful curves and realistic
flower forms held sway over
the straight and rigid severity
of line which prevailed at the
time of the Grand Monarque.
The wood used was usually
walnut, and after the sculptor
had carved entrancing patterns
of clinging tendril and leaf
upon its smooth surface it was
then gilded. All the large
pieces were ornamented with
the exquisite and unsurpassed
metal mounts by such artists
as Oeben, Riesener, Jacques,
Coffieri, Gouthiere, and other
men of talent.
STEINWAY & SONS
CL
plexity. One style so overlaps
another that we find pieces fre-
quently described as being of
“the end of the reign of Louis
XV or the beginning of that
of Louis XVI.” In the same
way there is little distinction
between the late productions
of Louis XVI and those of the
Directoire, and still less be-
tween these and the First
Empire. It was not until the
latter periods of Louis XV and
Louis XVI that artists awoke
to the advisability of ensuring
the association of their names
with their productions. This
practice reveals evidences of a
subdivision of labor, and we
find panels signed by one artist
and used by another in the
construction of his product.
The bronze workers did not
follow this custom, and except
for such well-known names as Coffiere, Meissonier,
Gouthiere, we are left in ignorance of the men who
wrought the exquisitely chased goldlike mounts
which adorned most of the furniture of the day.
In Louis XIV’s reign, a period of seventy-two
years, decoration reached the height of sumptuous
richness and detail reached the limit of luxuriance.
The Regency, or Louis XV monarchy, covered a
LOUIS XIV PIANO,
GREEN AND GOLD
VERNIS MARTIN
STEINWAY & SONS
LOUIS XV PIANO
MAHOGANY, GOLD ORMOLU MOUNTS
period of but eight years, yet the changes that were
wrought in the decorative arts in so short a time
would not be thought possible. These comprised
the desertion of the heavy, sumptuous splendor in
favor of the chaste beauty of simplicity and the
dainty delicacy of the boudoir. The huge designs
were replaced by the smaller and more pleasing pat-
terns of airiness which took the form and floral
grace of the softly waving flow-
ers in the terraced gardens.
The initiative thus supplied
proceeded apace. This was a
pretty time and gay, when soft,
graceful curves and realistic
flower forms held sway over
the straight and rigid severity
of line which prevailed at the
time of the Grand Monarque.
The wood used was usually
walnut, and after the sculptor
had carved entrancing patterns
of clinging tendril and leaf
upon its smooth surface it was
then gilded. All the large
pieces were ornamented with
the exquisite and unsurpassed
metal mounts by such artists
as Oeben, Riesener, Jacques,
Coffieri, Gouthiere, and other
men of talent.
STEINWAY & SONS
CL