Baroque Revival Architecture ........ .....William and Mary Baroque style furniture..................... Illustrated
FURNITURE Glossary
Furniture - Baroque / Baroque Revival
Table of Contents:
Baroque - 1600-1750Definition: a European style of architecture and decoration which developed in the 17th cent. in Italy from late Renaissance and Mannerist forms, and culminated in the churches, monasteries, and palaces of southern Germany and Austria in the early 18th cent.
Relevant 17th century historical events:
- 1602 - Dutch East India Company founded
- 1603 - Elizabeth I of England dies
- 1607 - The London Company establishes the Jamestown settlement in North America
- 1610 - Louis XIII ascends the French throne
- 1618-48 - The Thirty Years War between Catholics and Protestants
- 1620 - Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock
- 1626 - Dutch explorers found New York
- 1643 - Louis XIV reigns as King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715
- 1642 - Galileo dies
- 1660 - The Commonwealth of England ends and the monarchy is brought back during the English Restoration
- 1667 - St. Peter's Square, designed by Bernini, is completed
- 1677 - William III of the Netherlands marries Mary, heir to the English throne
- 1682 - La Salle explores the length of the Mississippi River and claims Louisiana for France
- 1689-1694 - Dutch monarchs William III and Mary II rule England
- 1692 - Salem witch trials in Massachusetts.
Etymology: "Baroque" means "curious, odd, or strange" in French. The Portuguese "barroco" means "a large irregular pearl." The term "Baroque" was initially used with a derogatory meaning, to underline the excesses of its emphasis, of its eccentric redundancy, its noisy abundance of details, as opposed to the clearer and sober rationality of the Renaissance.
Features:
- Curved and distorted forms
- Heavy moldings
- Strong contrasts of light and shade
- C and S scrolls,
- Elaborate ornamentation
- Shell motifs
- Cartouches
- Twisted columns
- Contorted caryatids
- Inventive use of classical motifs.
Ornamentation:
- Ebonizing: Ebonizing is a technique which attempts to make a piece of plain timber appear to be ebony
- Boulle-work: The special inlay technique of Charles André Boulle, using tortoiseshell and German silver, brass, or pewter.
- Lacquering: Lacquer, be it the European imitation called Japanning or real Oriental lacquer, is a form of decoration in itself - it is not trying to be something else. Lacquer may be black, red, green or multi-colored.
- Oil-gilding: This is the laying of gold leaf on the wood using gold-size, which is a form of varnish. The process of gilding is several thousand years old.
- Marquetry
- Ormolu: Gilt mounts.
- Turning
- Inlay
- Walnut and tin - Hofmobileliendepot Imperial Furniture Collection,Vienna, Austria
- Walnut and bone - Hofmobileliendepot Imperial Furniture Collection,Vienna, Austria
- Carving
Tables:
- Specimen table: Intended to be "show off." Materials included ivory, ebony, marble, colored stones
- Bureau-plat: A flat writing table or desk
- Gate-leg tables (VS. refectory tables that used benches)
- Cathedral,Catania, Sicily
Chairs: replaced stools and benches, lighter, more comfortable than 16th century chairs; turning used on legs and stretchers
- Cane chairs
- Caned side chairs - Hofmobileliendepot Imperial Furniture Collection,Vienna, Austria
- Upholstered chairs
- Gilded, upholstered armchair - Hofmobileliendepot Imperial Furniture Collection,Vienna, Austria
- Leather chairs
Cupboard
Mirrors: Mirrors began to appear in the this century
Misc.
- Prayer kneeler - Hofmobileliendepot Imperial Furniture Collection,Vienna, Austria
- Fire screen - Hofmobileliendepot Imperial Furniture Collection,Vienna, Austria
- Five pieces of furniture - Hofmobileliendepot Imperial Furniture Collection, Vienna, Austria
- Central Italian Baroque organ - Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester
Baroque - France
French: Baroque VS Regency VS Rococo Baroque:
- 17th century
- France: Louis XIV
- More masculine
- Symmetrical
- Imposing ornamental decoration
- Ornamentation: Masks, putti, grotesques, caryatids, acanthus leaves sculpted in the round
- Tables and chairs: stocky supports and stretchers of monumental proportions; legs either columnar, spiraled or carved with animal-shapes
Regency:
- 1715-1722
- France: Philippe d'Orleans
- Tables and chairs: Stretchers joining the supports
Rococo:
- 18th century
- France: Louis XV
- More feminine
- Asymmetrical
- Less imposing ornamental decoration
- Ornamentation: Flowers, rosebuds, garlands, scallop-shell in less pronounced relief
- Tables and chairs: slim and graceful S-shaped cabriole legs, just strong enough to support the light and dainty furniture; stretchers discarded
Baroque - EnglandBecause of civil unrest throughout much of the 17th century, new furniture styles (i.e., Baroque) were met with resistance. The end-of-the-century William and Mary era clearly features Baroque style.
Relevant dates in 17th Century English history:
1603 - Queen Elizabeth dies; James I crowned
1625 - Charles I crowned1642 - Civil war between Royalists (Cavaliers) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads)
1649 - Charles I executed
1653 - Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England
1658 - Cromwell dies
1660 - Charles II restored to the throne and Scotland
1677 - William III of the Netherlands marries Mary, heir to the English throne
1685 - James II ascends throne
1689 - 1689-1694 - Dutch monarchs William III and Mary II rule England
1702 - Anne becomes Queen of England and Scotland
Baroque - AmericaSee Pilgrim style and William and Mary style.
Baroque Revival 1885-1914
Nineteenth century revival of European Baroque style
Widely adopted in Great Britain and the British Empire from about 1885 until World War I, particularly for government, municipal and commercial buildings.
In France, Baroque Revival is known as Second Empire, a style imported to the U.S, including Buffalo.
Examples from Buffalo architecture:
Other examples:
- Second Empire (Neo-baroque plus Neoclassical style adopted by Napoleon III) - Louvre Museum, France