HOUSE AND GARDEN 
October, 1910 
212 
called after Henry 
II lasted about 
seventy-five years. 
During the regency 
of Marie de Medi¬ 
ci, Flemish influ¬ 
ence became very 
strong, as she in¬ 
vited Rubens to 
Paris to decorate 
the Luxembourg. 
There were also 
many Italians call¬ 
ed to do the work, 
and as Rubens had 
studied in Italy, 
Italian influence 
was not lacking, 
but his visit is the 
beginning of the 
By courtesy 0/ the Metropolitan Museum of Art 
A desk table from the time of Louis XIV, 
under whom France rose to a position of 
world-wide supremacy in the arts 
period of Louis 
XIII. It was a time of great magnificence, and it was during 
the reign of Louis XIII that the final break came from the 
Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was a transitory but well 
marked period of its own, and shadowed 
forth the coming glory of Louis XIV. 
In the latter's reign for the first time 
furniture became really comfortable, and 
if one examines the engravings of Abra¬ 
ham Bosse one will see that the rooms 
have an air of homelikeness as well as 
richness. The characteristic chair of the 
period was short in the back and square 
in shape—it was usually covered with 
leather or tapestry, fastened to the chair 
with large brass nails, and the back and 
seat often had a fringe. A set of chairs 
usually consisted of arm-chairs, plain 
chairs, folding stools and a lit-de-repos. 
Many of the arm-chairs were entirely 
covered with velvet or tapestrv, or, if 
the woodwork showed, it was stained to 
harmonize with the covering on the seat and back. 
I he twisted columns used in chairs, bedposts, etc., were 
borrowed from Italy and were very popular. Another shape 
often used for chair legs was the X that shows Flemish influ¬ 
ence. I he lit-de-repos, or chaise-longue, was a seat about six 
feet long, sometimes with arms and sometimes not, and with 
a mattress and bolster. The beds were very elaborate and very 
i rportant in the scheme of decoration, as the ladies of the time 
held receptions in their bedrooms and the king and nobles gave 
audiences to their subjects while in bed. These latter were 
therefore necessarily furnished with splendor. The woodwork 
was usually covered with the same material as the curtains, or 
stained to harmonize. The canopy never reached to the ceiling 
but was, from floor to top, about 7 ft. 3 in. high, and the bed 
was 6 / ft. square. The curtains were arranged on rods and 
pulleys, and when closed this “lit en housse” looked like a huge 
square box. The counterpane, or “coverture dc parade,” was 
of the curtain material. The four corners of the canopy were 
always decorated with bunches of plumes or panache, or with 
a carved wooden ornament called pomme, or with a “bouquet” 
of silk. The beds were covered with rich stuffs, like tapestry, 
silk, satin, velvet, cloth-of-gold and silver, etc., all of which 
were embroidered or trimmed with gold or silver lace. One 
of the features of a Louis XIII room was the tapestry and 
hangings. A certain look of dignity was given to the rooms 
by the general square and heavy outlines of the furniture 
and the huge chimney-pieces. It seems a style well suited 
to large dining-rooms and libraries in modern houses of 
importance. 
The taste for cabinets kept up and the cabinets and presses 
were large, sometimes divided into two parts, sometimes with 
doors, sometimes with open frame underneath. The tables were 
richly carved and gilded, often ornamented with bronze and 
copper. The cartouche was used a great deal in decoration, 
and was wider than high, with a curved surface. This rounded 
form appears in the posts used in various kinds of furniture. 
When rectangles were used they were always broader than high. 
The garlands of fruit were heavy, the cornucopias were slen¬ 
der, with an astonishing amount of fruit pouring from them, 
and the work was done in rather low relief. Carved and gilded 
mirrors were introduced by the Italians as were also sconces 
and glass chandeliers. 
Louis XIV, the Magnificent, the “Sun King,” was fortunate 
in having the great'Colbert to aid him in carrying out his won¬ 
derful plan of founding the Manufacture Royalc des Meubles 
dc la C our one, or, as it is usually called, Manufacture des Gobe¬ 
lins. Artists of all kinds were gathered together and given 
apartments in the Louvre and the wonderfully gifted and ver¬ 
satile Le Brun was put at the head. Tapestry, goldsmiths’ 
work, furniture, jewelry, etc., were 
made, and with the royal protection and 
interest France rose to the position of 
world-wide supremacy in the arts. Le 
Brun had the same taste and love of 
magnificence as Louis, and had also 
extraordinary executive ability and an 
almost unlimited capacity for work, com¬ 
bined with the power of gathering about 
him the most eminent artists of the 
time. Andre Charles Boulle was one, 
and his beautiful cabinets, commodes, 
tables, clocks, etc., are now almost price¬ 
less. He carried the inlay of metals, 
tortoise-shell, ivory and beautiful woods 
to its highest expression, and the mingl¬ 
ing of colors with the exquisite workman¬ 
ship gave most wonderful effects. The 
taste for elaborately carved and gilded frames to chairs, tables, 
mirrors, etc., developed rapidly. Mirrors came within the peo¬ 
ple's reach, as they 
were made by the 
Gobelin works and 
were much less ex¬ 
pensive than the 
Venetian ones of 
the previous reign. 
Painted and gilded 
wood took the 
place of tapestry 
as wall covering. 
Tapestry was of 
course still used, 
but more as a dec¬ 
oration. The mas¬ 
sive chimney- 
pieces were super¬ 
seded by the “pe¬ 
tite - chiminee, and 
had great mirrors 
over them or elab- 
7 An elaborately carved chest of ebony from 
L < nnnui a c 11 the palace of Fontainebleau, representing 
page 245) the period of Louis XIII 
A chest from the palace of Versailles, Louis 
XIV. The inlay of metals, tortoise-shell, 
ivory and woods is carried to its highest 
degree of expression 
