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Lighting fixtures in 19th-century France

19TH-CENTURY CHANDELIERS A chandelier is a piece of furniture designed to capture light and enhance the brightness of an interior. It can already be found in the Middle Ages, made of wood and equipped with candles. (Apart from...)
French silverware in the 19th century

From 1820 to 1890, French goldsmithing was characterized by eclecticism and a taste for the most varied styles. From the neoclassical rigor of the Empire period to the bursts of fantasy of the Romantic era and the na
The console: History and specific features

A console table is a tall piece of furniture resembling a half-table placed against a wall. Its original four legs are often reduced to two, and sometimes it becomes a single supporting leg
The Restoration style (1815-1830)

After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815, power in France was taken over by the two brothers of Louis XVI: the Count of Provence, who would reign as Louis XVIII (1815-1823),
The Transition style (1765-1775)

The term Transition refers to the stylistic evolution which, in the second half of Louis XV's reign and the very beginning of Louis XVI's reign, is characterized by the abandonment of the curves and movement of the Romanesque style
Napoleon III tables and pedestal tables

The Napoleon III style, which spans from approximately 1852 to 1870, is distinguished by a broad blend of styles from the 16th to the 18th centuries. A large number of pieces of furniture feature marquetry in tortoiseshell and metal
Art Nouveau: The pinnacle of decorative arts (1890-1914)

The Birth of Art Nouveau: The desire to create a new art, understood as a new artistic form, appeared very early, at the end of the 18th century, and preoccupied many theorists and..
The Louis-Philippe style (1830-1848)

Beginning at the end of the Restoration (1830), the reign of Louis-Philippe continued until the Revolution of 1848 when Parisian revolts forced him to abdicate and go into exile. The new
Mercier Frères Transition Style Commode

The Transition style: historical landmarks. The Transition style covers the period from 1750 to 1774 and refers to the stylistic evolution that, in the second half of the reign of Louis XV and at the very beginning of the 19th century..
An incredible acquisition: "Voyage de la Sainte Famille en Egypte" by Georges Och

Georges Och, a largely unknown figure. Georges Och was a French landscape painter, born in 1798. To this day, little is known about the life and work of this artist who moved in the circles of..
Empire style ornamentation

The Empire style, a style of propaganda. At the end of the 18th century, Ancient Rome was celebrated both for its political grandeur and for what could be considered the pinnacle of its aesthetics
Animal sculpture and decorative arts in the 19th century

A popular genre. The Romantic movement, in addition to its decisive influence on sculpture regarding portraiture and the treatment of certain types of subjects, fostered the emergence of a particular genre:
The Empire style (1804-1815)

The Empire style developed under the impetus of Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821), who reigned from 1804 to 1815. The first stirrings of the Empire style can be found as early as the Directory (1795-1799), but
Art Deco, the modernity of the Roaring Twenties

Who hasn't dreamed of having a drink in a sublime Art Deco setting, as if they were living in The Great Gatsby? Often considered the emblematic aesthetic of the Roaring Twenties, Art Deco is..
Atena and her collection of Romantic-era art

"Romantic Paris, 1815-1848": The Petit Palais's landmark exhibition. From May 22 to September 15, 2019, the Petit Palais presents "Romantic Paris," an immersive exhibition that plunges us into the atmosphere of..
Jacob Petit and Paris porcelain

In the 1830s, while Parisian decorators and porcelain manufacturers provided designs that perpetuated the neoclassical vocabulary, Jacob Petit (1796-1868) challenged tradition by proposing
Cylinder secretary after Riesener

The cylinder desk: an 18th-century invention. The cylinder desk is a piece of office furniture created in the mid-18th century, during the reign of Louis XV. It has drawers and compartments made of
Gold leaf restoration

Gold, a trendy color in decoration. Among the decorating trends of recent years: gold. In brass, metal, or gilded wood, gold furniture, lighting, and decorative objects..
The Napoleon III style (1852-1870)

A period of decadence, the Second Empire (1852-1870) sought to impose prestige through pomp, festivities, and luxury, in contrast to the bourgeois reign of the discreet Louis-Philippe. The Napoleon III style is the
The Louis XV style (1730-1760)

The peaceful and prosperous reign of Louis XV (1715-1774) allowed for a prodigious development of the arts, literature, and sciences. The construction of new palaces, the flourishing of painting, and the
Silverware in the 19th century

The housewife, an 18th-century invention. The practice of placing cutlery on the table, around each plate, became widespread from the 17th century onwards, and especially in the 18th century. The grand sewers
The Louis XVI style (1774-1790)

After the period of experimentation with the Transition style (1765-1775), the Louis XVI style emerged in the early 1770s as the elegant expression of a return to classicism, free from the rigidity of taste