Life can be easier. Here, a quick guide to compare the two most famous French chair styles.
Louis XV (mid-1700s)
Rococo style is happening. This means exuberant decoration and curves in architecture and art, where furniture doesn't fall far.
Romantic and feminine look, very ornate wood.
Let's point at the major distinctive elements:
curved shapes
extensive rococo decoration
delicate shape
no leg stretchers
cabriole leg
Take a closer look at the cabriole leg in Louis XV chairs: Rococo style carvings (cockleshells, flowers, instruments), smaller and slimmer than other period styles, no ball or claw at the end, and no stretchers.
Louis XVI (late 1700s)
A renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman styles gave origin to neoclassicism.
A simpler, less ornate style, but still delicate and small sized.
Straight lines are the new elegant.
Most distinctive features here:
straight lines
simpler, less ornate style
square, oval or shield back
straight legs
Again, the legs will provide you with the biggest help in trying to identify Louis XVI: usually they are shaped like roman columns, topped with a carved rosette in a box shape.
Side by side
Can you tell these twinsies apart now?
As the period evolves from beginning to end, you will find many variations of these features.
A chair made at the beginning of the period could still have influence from the previous period, while a chair made at the end will reflect much better it distinctive elements, or even show some from the period to follow.
Also, consider that the furniture pieces made for palaces were much more ornamented than the ones produced for the countryside.
Want to know more?
If you are lucky enough, go and visit The Wrightsman Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Here, you can check many of its pieces online.
Looking for some chairs for yourself?
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