It will run through the beginning of the Capetian dynasty to nowadays and will focus on everything related to France and its history.
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Panel of Lace Pattern Brocaded Silk Satin
French, ca. 1720–25
With their luxuriant patterns and pleasing symmetry, so-called lace pattern silks of the early eighteenth century were used for sumptuous fashions and furnishings throughout Europe. Peaking in popularity in the 1720s, lace pattern brocades underscore a significant design exchange between two important French industries. Silks of this type are characterized by areas of delicate diaper patterning and fillings that typically resemble lace or net. It may appear that silk weavers derived their designs from pieces of lace; however, it was in fact the brocades that inspired the lacemakers of the day. Though independently creative, lace manufacturers kept abreast of stylistic developments in related fields—within the detailed, mesh-like silk patterns of this brief period, designers saw great potential for new types of intricacies in their laces.
Reliure en veau crème à décor entièrement mosaïqué (composition orientalisante), Paris, atelier de Louis-François Le Monnier, vers 1750
Paris. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Réserve des livres rares. B- 13201
The BNF created a data base about book covers. I’m a bit in love, I think.
Les Îles Eparses
After leaving Bayonne in 1760,the ship l’Ecluse belonging to the Companie française des Indes Orientales sank on the 17th of July 1761 on the island Tromelin. On its board, slaves from Madagascar, illegally bought and destined to what is now Mauritius. Two months later, the crew manages to reach Madagascar, leaving 60 slaves behind them.
It is only fifteen years later, on the 29th of November 1776 that the Knight of Tromelin rescued the eight survivors : seven women and a eight months baby.
Archeological researches have been made to study the remnant of the ship and the life of the people on the island. Two reports (in French) can be found here and here.
Constance Marie Charpentier, Melancholy, 1801, oil on canvas, 130 x 165 cm. Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France
Constance Marie Charpentier (born 1767 Paris, France – August 3, 1849 France) was a French painter. She specialized in genre scenes andportraits, mainly of children and women. She was also known as Constance Marie Bondelu.
Records of Charpentier’s training are unclear, but she might have studied with numerous artists. She is typically believed to have studied with the acclaimed French painter Jacques-Louis David, but may also have been a pupil of François Gérard, Pierre Bouillon, Louis Lafitte, and either Johann Georg Wille or his son, Pierre-Alexandre Wille.
In 1788 she received a ‘Prix d’Encouragement.’ From 1795 to 1819 she exhibited approximately thirty painting at various Salons, winning a gold medal in 1814 at the Paris Salon and a silver medal in 1821 at the Salon at Douai.
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. 18th century.
source: wikimedia
Cadran solaire multiple de type BloudDescription :2e moitié du 18e siècleAuteur :Bloud Charles (actif 1653-1686?)
Charles Bloud and his brother, based in Dieppe, created ivory sundial. He started to sign his work around 1655, but disappeared after 1685 and the revocation of Edit de Nantes. He and his brother refused to convert to Catholicism.
This sundial is inspired from his work.
Le Massacre de Machecoul, peinture de François Flameng, 1884
The massacre of 150 to 200 Vendean Republicans by Vendean Royalists in Machecoul was the starting event of the War in the Vendée.
Believe it or not, this ornate desk commissioned by Marie-Antoinette represents the queen’s move toward a more reserved style!
See more from the infamous monarch’s private collection in Royal Treasures from the Louvre: Louis XIV to Marie-Antoinette, which closes on March 17.
Rolltop desk, 1784. Jean-Henri Riesener, cabinetmaker. Oak and deal frame; veneer of sycamore, purple wood, and tulipwood; polychrome wood marquetry; gilt bronze mounts. Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d’Art, OA 5226. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY / Martine Beck-Coppola
The Carte de France was published by four generations of the Cassini family from 1750 to 1815. It consists of 182 sheets at the same scale, allowing the sheets to be joined together to form a physical map of about 39 feet high by 38 feet wide. It is rich both in historical cultural information and exquisite graphic art. The map was the first national survey completed systematically, relying on the latest science of its time.
Sedan chair (Circa 1700-1715)
Anonymous
Crédits : Patrick Pierrain / Petit Palais / Roger-Viollet
The surprising richness of this utilitarian object is explained by the fact that a visitor would step out of the chair under cover in the hallway where it would remain during the visit, becoming part of the decor. It was therefore designed rather as an interior object which was temporarily exposed to inclement weather from which it tried to protect itself with a studded leather roof and panels made of waterproof material such as lacquer or vernis Martin, a lustrous lacquer substitute.
In the period 1690-1720, the arabesque came back into fashion under the influence of painters and decorators following in the footsteps of Jean Bérain (1640-1711). Daniel Marot (1663-1752) created very similar decorations on sedan chairs, but his premature exile to England on religious grounds means that a direct influence cannot be traced here and it is attributed instead to Sébastien Leclerc (1637-1714).
The importance of the owners, Duke Leopold I of Lorraine (1679-1729) and Elisabeth-Charlotte of Orleans (1676-1744), niece of Louis XIV whom he married in 1698, accounts for the exceptional decor of this object bearing their coat of arms. Arabesques surround panels decorated with allegorical figures of Winged Fames, Victories, Mars, or History at work, oblivious to Time sat behind it. These are probably all allusions to the victories of the Dukes of Lorraine, including that of Leopold I himself over the Turks. The crowned cupids are a more appropriate evocation of the union of the two spouses.
