Neoclassical period
- Genevieve Stuart
- Feb 3, 2017
- 3 min read
Early French Neoclassical - Louis XVI
Boiserie from the Hotel de Cabris - France - Late 18th century (1775-1778)
Source: ARTstor - VIU online Images library
This small reception room from the Hotel de Cabris in France is a perfect example of a typical Louis XVI interior. One of the most significant characteristic of this style is the elaborate, symmetrical and rectangular wall paneling throughout the room. In comparison to the previous flamboyant Roccoco Style, Louis XVI furniture is still highly embellished with fine detailed ornamentations consisting of golden gilded details, ormolus, rosettes, guilloches and fluted legs, but they are now more linear in their form. Furniture legs are straight rather than curved. The colour palette of the Louis XVI period is usually light and pale pastel colours. This is true for the walls field colour as well as furniture and upholstery. Delicate damask pattern is a recurrent motif used for upholstery and silk fabric is a favourite. Golden gilded details are a distinctive element also applied on walls and fireplace. Framed large mirrors are equally typical. Large decorative rugs are often used to define area in the room and the chandeliers used are elaborate and occupy a central place in the room.
Contemporary Kitchen & Dining Room
In this kitchen and dining room interior, we can easily observe the Louis XVI style as a clear inspiration for this contemporary design. First of all, the colour palette is very light. Off-white cabinetry, flooring and ceiling as well as golden beige colour, reminding us of the gilded gold details of a typical French Neoclassical interior. The second element to consider is the use of rectangular wall paneling created by small and elegant mouldings. A sense of symmetry results from the consistent application of this wall paneling throughout the room. Additionally, the damask pattern, typically used for upholstery fabric during the Louis XVI period, is cleverly applied inside the wall paneling as a reference to the style. The choice of the cabinetry door style also echoes the same concept. Another characteristic of the style is found in the use of medallion blocks, rosettes and fluted column details used both around the cooking station and over the wine cellar on both side of the criss-cross wine bottle shelving. The rounded arch and niche over the wine station is also an allusion to the neoclassical period, as the Greek and Roman column and arches were extremely popular. High ceiling and detailed ogee mouldings are another design features inspired by the neoclassical period.
Inspired by the use of large rugs to define areas, a typical neoclassical concept, this contemporary design incorporated an elegant flooring pattern to delineate the dining area. The use of heavy fabric as a window treatment is also echoing the neoclassical period. Finally, the furnitures are extremely similar to the one typical to Louis XVI style. The medallion oval back, the medallion blocks, rosettes and straight fluted and round tapered legs as well as the light and delicate floral motif of the upholstery are the features typical to the Louis XVI style. Those exact characteristics categorized those chairs as an almost identical copy to the Louis XVI chairs rather than being inspired by the famous style. However, despite the almost identical chairs, the overall design of this contemporary interior design has clearly been inspired by the early French Neoclassical period with a clever modern touch.
The Neoclassical period spans over a period of about 100 years (1750-1850). It is an incredibly interesting period to study as the world had just discovered the two ancient roman city of Pompeii and Herculaneum around the 1740s. Classical order became extremely popular as people desired to escape the overwhelming frivolity of the Rococo and Baroque period. Several different styles developed in different countries and as history occurred, it influenced and shaped the world, from architecture to interior design and furniture. Each style differs from one to another; Louis XVI, French Empire, German Biedermeier and American Federal styles are only a few very distinctive examples of this period. It is important to understand the influence that the Neoclassical period still have on our design today. It is a traditional style that inspire elegance, good taste, order as well as a feeling of grandeur.
Thanks for reading! Next post will be on the Federal America period!
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