DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68274#0225
Seventeenth Century (Flemish)
this room distinction. To begin with, the framework is
ornately carved, and it is hung with rich silken curtains
and sumptuously upholstered. Undoubtedly this bed
was of the same type as the beautiful Renaissance speci-
men reproduced in Plate XXV, from the Rijks Museum,
Amsterdam. A reference to Plate X will show this
is later in style than the " new " one designed by De
Vries. The " linen-fold " panel has entirely disappeared,
and the carved accessories are all pure late Renaissance.
At the time this inventory was taken, however, these
magnificent wardrobe-shaped beds with elaborate carving
were already out of date and supplanted in favour by
the lighter form with simple posts at the corners, the
whole being entirely closed with curtains. This bed
appears in Plate XXVI and Plate XXVII with both
square and dome-shaped tops, and in many other pic-
tures by the Dutch masters of the seventeenth century.
The bed in which upholstery had superseded carving
had been growing in favour, not only in the homes of
the middle classes, but also in those of the rich. It even
occurs in the inner room of the wealthy house represented
in Plate XXIV.
This bed, known as the lit en housse, is the typical
bed of the seventeenth century, and is the one that
appears in Abraham Bosse's engravings, whenever a
bed is introduced—in the homes of the rich, in hospitals,
and in the rooms of tradesmen and school teachers.
In this style of bed, the framework is of comparatively
little importance. The del, or canopy, is supported on
four posts which are carved or painted in harmony
with the curtains, or covered with the same materials.
147
this room distinction. To begin with, the framework is
ornately carved, and it is hung with rich silken curtains
and sumptuously upholstered. Undoubtedly this bed
was of the same type as the beautiful Renaissance speci-
men reproduced in Plate XXV, from the Rijks Museum,
Amsterdam. A reference to Plate X will show this
is later in style than the " new " one designed by De
Vries. The " linen-fold " panel has entirely disappeared,
and the carved accessories are all pure late Renaissance.
At the time this inventory was taken, however, these
magnificent wardrobe-shaped beds with elaborate carving
were already out of date and supplanted in favour by
the lighter form with simple posts at the corners, the
whole being entirely closed with curtains. This bed
appears in Plate XXVI and Plate XXVII with both
square and dome-shaped tops, and in many other pic-
tures by the Dutch masters of the seventeenth century.
The bed in which upholstery had superseded carving
had been growing in favour, not only in the homes of
the middle classes, but also in those of the rich. It even
occurs in the inner room of the wealthy house represented
in Plate XXIV.
This bed, known as the lit en housse, is the typical
bed of the seventeenth century, and is the one that
appears in Abraham Bosse's engravings, whenever a
bed is introduced—in the homes of the rich, in hospitals,
and in the rooms of tradesmen and school teachers.
In this style of bed, the framework is of comparatively
little importance. The del, or canopy, is supported on
four posts which are carved or painted in harmony
with the curtains, or covered with the same materials.
147