EUROPEAN FURNITURE.
Italian Furniture.— The Gothic style never gained a full hold in Italy, for, as Dr. Semper says: "Already by the 12th century the Renais sance era was opened in furniture, especially in Most of these Gothic pieces are found in the church furnishings, as closets, with Gothic façades, and were used in chapels, choirs, sacristies, etc. For a short period in the 14th century Gothic architectural motifs were used in structural parts as niches, pillars, balus trades, etc. When (1453) Mohammedans captured Constantinople, the Greek artists, fleeing to the west, brought back the grand Classic traditions and the Renaissance blos somed forth. A favored method of decoration was painting and the craftsmen's guild of Saint Luke, in Florence (1349), admitted artists as members. Woodcarving advanced in artistic merit, but the greater fondness in the 15th cen tury was still for painted panels for the great wall cupboards (credences) and coffers (cas soni), and even chairs and bedsteads. The tendency was toward depictions of Biblical sub jects, history or fable. The Florentine artist, Dello, did much fine painting on woodwork. Along with this fondness for painted furniture there was an increasing fondness for the mar quetry work (called intarsia), which, starting with geometric inlays, of black and white woods, had advanced, by the 15th century, to historical and landscape representations in stained woods with very realistic effects. Giovanni da Verona is said to have invented the of half-tones with oils and acids. Giulio Majano and Benedetto da Majano, Guido Servellino, Domenico di Marietto, Baccio Girolamo .delta Cecca were noted in that period. In the 16th century great Italian mar quetry artists were the family of Bartolommeo de Pola, and the ecclesiastics Giovanni, Raf faello and Damiano. Venice became the most active centre and her marquetry work was in demand all over Europe. The trecento, quat trocento and cinquecento styles of decoration were each well represented in their periods by the furniture makers of Italy. The credence or dresser developed into a true sideboard, losing its open shelves. The cabinet grew out of the press or closet. Tables were soon most ornately carved. Bureaus of drawers came into being in the Renaissance. The heavy Gothic bedstead became a light frame with slender posts (columns) supporting a canopy of tapestry or brocade, and the high head board showed magnificently carved designs such as the owner's heraldic bearings. Lovely screens were in use in stamped leather or with painted decoration. The cassone (marriage chest) became more and more ornate, receiving beautiful decoration in gesso relief, gilding, intarsia and wood carving. An artist noted for such work was Andrea di Cosimo. The 17th century saw the development of book cases and writing desks as part of the furniture of the wealthy. These were formerly only seen in the great libraries or used by Church digni taries. The true couch belongs to this period —a piece of furniture for day comfort entirely apart from the bed.
French Gothic style ruled supreme in the designs of French furniture up to the 16th century; that is to say Gothic archi tectural motifs and outlines formed the con structive parts. In the 16th century Italian in fluence sets in and we find Venetian marquetry arabesques the furniture. Francis I, through his campaign in Italy, brought the Renaissance style to France and we find great carved work in caryatids, grotesques and sculptured human heads protruding from medallions in miniature garrets, heavy garlands of fruits. Mythological and allegorical sub jects appear on the marquetry panels. Archi tectural pediments crown the furniture, the °broken° pediment often having its statue in the open space. Under Louis XIII all decora tion as well as the furniture itself is character istically heavy, including the columns, car touches, garlands, balustrades, furniture feet. The motifs are Renaissance but the light some and open work is gone, all is opaque and sombre. Panels are sometimes octagonal. The cabinetwork begins to show the influence of the Flemish ebenist (cabinet-maker), for the king had sent artisans to the Netherlands and they had brought back the Flemish Renaissance technique. The queen was Spanish and she introduced Moorish traditions (mosaic in crustations of mother-of-pearl, ivory, etc.). The chaise a vertugadin was armless to allow ladies to sit with their immense spreading far thingales. Chairs had often straight medallion backs; armchairs were of wood entirely; set tles, generally bare, had leather or cane seats. The Louis XIII cabinet is typically heavy; it succeeded the dresser and had channeled pil asters to break the front surface; statues in niches were in the upper tier, the swinging doors were paneled. The queen's Spanish goldsmiths made some furniture pieces of solid silver. • Louis XIV The pompousness of the "Grand Monarchs' is reflected in the furniture as a prevailing feature till toward the end of his long reign, when the Berain style of minute ness and delicacy arrived. With Colbert as Controller-General, ruling the decorative arts with his genius and enthusiasm, with the Lou vre and Gobelins factories, aided by the Aubus son and Beauvaix furniture tapestries, France produced furniture that astonished the world and was able to discard Italian and Flemish styles for new conceptions. To this reign be
long the art products of the genius of such artists as the sculptors Caffieri, Tuby, Anguier; the engravers Le Clerc, Audran, Rousellet; the cabinet-workers Boulle, Cucci, Oppenord, Poi tou, Varin; and designers LePautre and Be rain. The heavy first phase in the Louis Qua torze period is heroic or Roman decorative treatment (trophies of Roman arms, allegorical and mythological figures, cornucopias, car touches with bulging fields). In the late phase of the period the minute detail decoration of °chinoiseries° by &rain commence, to continue into the Regence period. Pieces of furniture are broad, heavy, stiff armchairs with capacious backs and massive arms and legs; the couch (lit de duchesse) was introduced, also the screen and fire screen of lacquer. Some pieces of furniture are of solid silver. Rosewood ve neer appears late in this reign. Bedsteads have plumes (panaches) at the four corners of the canopies. Stiff, heavy, capacious, but grand, is the type of furniture of "le Roi Soleil.° Regency King Louis XV was five years old on the death of Louis XIV, and Louis Philippe of Orleans was made regent. The light, graceful arabesques of Berain, the drawings of Oppenord, the gsingeries°(ape groups) of Gillot were inherited in fresh form from the later years of the former reign. Charles Cressent gave life and exquisite beauty to furniture pieces with his talented sculpture work ornament, in bronze, brass and or-moulu, his delicate tortoise-shell marquetry, inlays of colored woods, etc. Financiers, merchants and the wealthy bourgeoisie were taking promi nence in luxurious surroundings. Meissonnier and Thomas Germain brought their genius into this period. In decorative motifs we find the shell (coquille), used often in the Louis Qua torze period, is pierced and more or less con ventionalized. Multiplied opposing curves and volutes frame panels and mirrors. It is the be ginning of the °rococo° decoration. Chiseled copper and bronze gilt are profusely used in ornamentation of wardrobes, bureaus, chiffon iers and sidetables. Corners of furniture dis play high relief busts of women. Legs bend to °cabriole° curves; tie-pieces are discarded leaving the legs free. Vernis-Martin (see LAC QUERS AND LACQUERWORK) furniture is in vogue. Chairbacks are of rounded outline and concave; chests of drawers acquire styles Ca la °41 la Harant," ga la Dauphine.° Louis XV fashions in furnish ing changed considerably in this reign on ac count of arranging the dwellings (formerly im mense rooms) into small apartments of cozy dimensions. With the arrival of these small comfortable suites of rooms, the furniture be comes of reduced size and takes on bolder curves and °bombe° fronts. The style with its opposed C's and fantastic shell work was in full vogue till 1750, when Ma dame Pompadour converted the court to favor a return to Classic models (first termed 6 la reine). Cressen's genius was now rivaled by Oeben and, later, by Riesener, Other great cabinet-makers were Duplessis, Hervieux, Ber nard, Boudin, Olivier, Joubert, etc. Jacques and Philippe Caffieri (sons of the noted Caf fieri of the last reign) did lovely furniture dec oration. Gladbach came from Cologne and Gouthiere did master work in metal adornment on Riesener and other creations. Boucher painted entrancing cupids. The iDuchesse long chair often was divided by partitions; icaincons (corner pieces) or encoignures ad mirably adapted themselves to these small rooms. Hand-made Aubusson and Beauvais tapestries were coverings for chefs-d'a'uvres, besides satin, velvet-plush, embossed taffeta., chenille, silk brocatelle, etc., in soft-toned colors. Some chair seats were caned, some gilded. Marquetry grew into still greater favor. Trophy motifs are now tied with rib bons and contain bouquets of flowers, groups of musical instruments, quivers (carquoii), torches, doves, cupids and other Love emblems. To the comfortable gbergeres* are added 'mar guises," gvis-i-visa and sofas. Fire screens and folding screens continue greatly in favor. Imitation Chinese lacquers are the rage (vernis Martin), with decorations of pagodas, pastoral scenes, groups of gallants, etc. Lacquer artists of note are Watin, Lequay, Girardin. The harpsichord (clavecin) became a favored piece of furniture. Bedsteads remained as in the Regency, those d la duchesse having no posts. Large chiffoniers had sliding-doors. Writing tables often had flat tops, fluted legs, chased bronze decorations. Cylinder bureaus were in use. gCoquilliers,° or shell cabinets came into vogue, for conchology was a popular fad. These and other cabinets, toilet tables, gueri dons, etc., have as decoration cartouches and escutcheons set always oblique (it is rococo). Armchairs had their arms set halfway back on the seat to allow room for the ladies hoops of the crinolines in fashion.