Posts Tagged ‘belgian furniture’

ART NOUVEAU BELGIAN FURNITURE: LADY’S BUREAU, MAHOGANY AND MIXED-WOOD TABLE, MAHOGANY SCREEN, WALNUT TABLE, COIFFEUSE.

IN LATE 19TH-CENTURY Europe, Art
Nouveau reached its creative peak in Belgium. Its success there was largely due to the fact that people were encouraged to explore fresh, exciting ways of looking at the arts.
The same, spirited Art Nouveau message that called fora cohesive, unified interior — so successfully accomplished elsewhere in Europe —took root in Belgium in the work of a number of innovative artist-architects, such as Victor Hotta, Henry van de Velde, and Gustave Serrurier-Bovy
The Belgian version of Art Nouveau had much in common with its French counterpart. Both embraced free-flowing, sinuous, sculptural furniture, and had a rich vocabulary of decorative motifs in organic shapes — plants, Hower blossoms, trees, butterflies, and insects — all drawn from the natural world.
HENRY VAN DE VELDE
Henry van de Velde won universal acclaim for the design of his own home near Brussels — Bloemenwerf —where furniture, carpets, and wall coverings combined to create a harmonious whole. He forged strong links with France by showcasing and selling his furniture at prestigious retail shops in Paris, including Siegfried Bing’s FArt Nouveau and La Maison Modern owned by Julius Meier-Graefe. Widely celebrated
throughout Europe, van de Velde was influenced by the writings of William Morris and believed that art should always follow organic form — a theory that underlined his furniture designs. Echoing nature’s subtle curves and lines, they were rendered in light-coloured, native timbers such as walnut, beech, and oak, and had minimal decoration. Despite van de Velde’s theories, function was key to his sturdy yet elegantly simple cabinets, tables, and writing desks.
VICTOR HORTA
Another Belgian pioneer of the Art Nouveau style was the architect and designer, Victor Hotta, who designed spectacular buildings such as the
splendid Hotel Tassel in Brussels. His interiors coalesced into harmonious and integrated ensembles: from wall panelling, ceilings, and door frames to furniture and metalwork fixtures, using an exciting range of new
materials, such as iron and glass.
The cross-fertilization between French and Belgian Art Nouveau resulted in Horta’s energetic, curving style — with its signature whiplash curves — influencing Parisian designers such as Hector Guimard. His expensive furniture was skilfully crafted in luxurious timbers such as maple, mahogany, and fruitwoods, and lavishly upholstered in fabrics such as velvet and silk.

GUSTAVE SERRURIER-BOVY
Like van de Velde and Horta, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy adopted many familiar Art Nouveau decorative motifs to complement his furniture, including plants and flowers, sinuous curves, and high-wrought mounts of pewter or brass. Determined to produce well-designed furniture for everyone, Serrurier-Bovy was also inspired by the English Arts and Crafts Movement, as seen in his robust, rectilinear furniture and in his preference for oak.
The influence of these highly original Belgian designers reached beyond their national borders to set the cultural standard for Art Nouveau furniture throughout much of Europe.
The Musee Hotta This building was originally built by Victor Horta as his own studio and residence. This view shows the integrated interior, with both the staircase and glass dome featuring his
characteristic whiplash curves. 1898.

COIFFEUSE
This mahogany coiffeuse was designed by the artist-architect, Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, as a piece of bedroom furniture. The mirror is comprised of three panels, contained within a gently curving frame. The table section has
two pairs of drawers above and two drawers below. The elegant, curved lines of the top of the piece are echoed in the arched stretchers joining the legs, and the arch at the front of the table, which creates the kneehole. 1899.
BED FRAME
s bed frame has a bold, curvilinear shape is made from stained oak. It was designed Henry van de Velde. The head has bowed and arched profiles and ’s of raised and fielded, shield-shaped
panels. The piece terminates in splayed feet, which form part of the overall curved shape, and rests on brass casters. Henry van de Velde believed that art should follow an organic form and this influenced the shape and decoration of his furniture. c.1897-98.

SIDE CHAIR
This mahogany chair was designed by Victor Horta and illustrates his use of sumptuous materials and curving style, as shown in the design of the chair back, legs, and stretchers. The seat
is covered with a generously upholstered cushion.
c.1901.
WALNUT TABLE
This walnut occasional table has an overhanging circular top, arched apron, and curving, cabriole legs that terminate in stylized feet. The piece was designed by Henry
van de Velde. c.1916.
MAHOGANY SCREEN
This mahogany screen, designed by Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, has three glass panels that create strong vertical lines. In contrast, the top of the piece is sinuous in shape. While the glass in the lower half of the screen is original, the upper pieces are replacements.
1899.

MAHOGANY AND MIXED-WOOD TABLE
This side table is made of mahogany decorated with marquetry. The top is inlaid with a floral decoration above a short drawer, and the cupboard is inlaid with a daffodil design. The supports are embellished with sinuous tendrils and brass fittings.
c. 1902.
LADY’S BUREAU
Designed by Henry van de Velde and made by H. Scheidemantel in Weimar, this bureau design is typical of the work of van de Velde. The curved lines of the wood are used to create an unusual and organic shape, avoiding applied, inlaid, or any elaborate decoration. The only detailing is the unobtrusive, copper key mounts and the brass shoes. c.1903.

Low Countries Early 19th Century Antique Furniture

THE COUNTRY OF BELGIUM did not formally exist until 1831. Indeed, in October 1797, after the Treaty of Campo Formic, the region was annexed to France. As a result, the furniture produced there in the early 19th century scarcely differs from the French Empire style. Although the province was struggling economically, those with sufficient financial means ordered their furniture directly from Paris. After 1831, as elsewhere, a series of historical revival styles dominated Belgian furniture design.
The situation in the Netherlands was slightly different, partly because of antagonism towards the French occupation. After the Battle of Jena in 1806, Napoleon gave his brother Louis the throne of the Netherlands. As in Italy, the Empire style was introduced directly by the Emperor’s family.
INNOVATION
In 1808, the new King ordered that the 17th-century town hall of Amsterdam be refurbished as a Royal residence and had a suite of principal rooms built in the fashionable Empire style. Most of the furniture was supplied to the new French overlords by loyal Dutch craftsmen, including the talented Carel Breytspraak, the son of a German cabinet-maker, who had matriculated to the Amsterdam guild in 1795. His furniture is heavily influenced by the severe Classicism of Percier and Fontaine (see pp.200-01), but demonstrates idiosyncratic touches, such as applied mouldings around drawers or the use of typically
Dutch tapering feet. He also frequently used canted pilasters on case furniture to reduce the sense of bulk. Much of the seating supplied for the new Royal palace was upholstered by Joseph Cuel, including a scrolling day bed commissioned for the bedroom of Queen Hortense.
TRADITION
The Empire style remained popular even after Waterloo, so when King William I re-decorated the State apartments of the palace in The Hague, they were conceived in a Napoleonic style.
One of the most important suppliers to the palace was Nordanus, a local cabinet-maker. In 1818, he provided numerous mahogany pieces, some of which were veneered with floral marquetry. Local motifs, such as the fluted friezes and corner chamfering characteristic of 18th-century Neoclassical Dutch pieces, occur on much Dutch Empire furniture.
Classical features still persisted in the Low Countries into the second quarter of the 19th century and, as elsewhere in Europe, furniture was frequently made from light woods, particularly maple or burr-walnut, and was often influenced by both British furniture and the German Biedermeier style. Furniture workshops also became increasingly mechanized as the century progressed.
The Salon de Boiserie, Amsterdam Almost all of the painted panelling in this room is decorated with lavishly carved gilding. The room was designed by architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine.
DUTCH DINING CHAIR
This elm dining chair has a panelled top rail of joined construction with tapering sides. The felt upholstered seat has brass studding and is raised on a plain seat rail above turned and tapering legs. Early 19th century.
BELGIAN FAUTEUILS
The top rails of these Neoclassical, laminated, black-painted armchairs are decorated in gilt with central twin putti flanking a lyre in husk-decorated borders. The downcurved arms end in gilt ball finials and are supported by gilt cornucopias headed by leaf tips. The inverted, U-shaped legs of each chair have gilt-metal leaf-tip sabots. Each chair is stamped “Chapuis”. Early 19th century.

DUTCH CARD TABLE
The folding top of this walnut table has rounded corners and sits above a rectangular panelled frieze. The table top stands on square-section, tapering legs with gilt-metal feet. The table is decorated throughout with floral marquetry typical of the Low Countries. Early 19th century.

LINEN PRESS
This mahogany and rosewood cabinet has two doors crowned by a moulded and shaped cornice with a domed pediment and central cartouche. The lower section has a bombe base with three long drawers and claw-andball feet. Early 19th century.

The front of this rectilinear 11,111o)~,,Iuy cabinet contains one dummy drawer flanked by two true drawers with a cupboard enclosed by double doors below. The corner colonettes are carved with tasselled drapery and have Egyptian -style brass mummy’s-heads and foot terminals. The case stands on short, tapering legs with toupie feet. c.1805. H:99(-,m (391n); W.,120cln (471,in); D:59crn (23in). TNH
The square, tapering legs terminate in toupie feet,
The veneers are plain and well-figured.
The doors are decorated with a brass, geometric pattern.

DUTCH CABINET
The top section of this mahogany linen press has a pediment crest above a pair of cupboard doors, which open to reveal three shelves and three aligned drawers. The lower section of the press has two short over two long drawers and is raised on rectangular feet. The linen press is relief-carved with Neoclassical motifs. Early 19th century.