From 1715 to 1723, the Régence style was a brief transitional style between the Louis XIV and Louis XV styles. It accompanied the decorative arts on the way to Rocaille aestheticism, which stands for fantasy, lightness and elegance.
The furniture of the Régence period abandons the classicism of the Louis XIV style in favour of a refined revised decorative repertoire. Even if they adopt the features of the previous style (symmetry, masks and chimeras), Régence furniture becomes more curvaceous: the curved line emerges.
The emblematic motif of this style is undoubtedly the shell. This transitional period heralds the great themes of the Louis XV style with the appearance of chinoiserie, moving foliage, rosettes, volutes, arabesques and espagnolettes.
Features of the Régence style furniture
Apart from the appearance of the console, there are no real innovations in the furniture. Rather, it is a revival of the existing ornamental repertoire with a touch of fantasy. The chest of drawers takes on a crossbow- or tomb-shaped profile. The spring chest of drawers becomes a classic of the style, as does the flat desk. Exotic woods shipped in from colonies were used as veneers, such as: Silkwood, Rosewood, Violetwood or Rosewood. Provided with brass or bronze fillets, blackened pear wood came into fashion. The wooden top is replaced by marble, especially red breccia marble. The frame of the seating furniture is bent and fitted with a shoe, heralding the arrival of the Louis XV style houndstooth.
It is often the ornaments that reveal the Régence style:
- Scallops
- Sunflowers
- Smiling female heads called espagnolettes, sometimes topped with a tiara
- Asymmetrical acanthus leaves
- Motifs inspired by Italian Baroque art: flowers, plants, shells, vegetables, fruits, animals.
- Asian motifs: monkeys, pagodas, capons, …
Chinoiseries, which were to become even more important in the Rococo period, were also already represented.
Régence-era furniture vies for ingenuity to add comfort and warmth to interiors in search of fantasy and intimacy.
The cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle made new pieces of furniture very popular, such as the flat desk (bureau plat), the chest of drawers and the low bookcase or cabinet (bas armoire).
In general, tables became smaller, more delicate and easier to handle. Console tables became more important and were integrated into the interior decoration, for example by being placed under a mirror and corresponding with its forms.
A new kind of small toilet or ladies’ desk (bonheur du jour) emerged for women. Chairs became popular, so-called voyeuses or ponteuses, on which one sat astride to watch other salon participants at play or in conversation.
Leave a Reply