86 
House & Garden 
china is Karpenesque 
Uphoktered Furni¬ 
ture. It has a charm 
of line that lends at¬ 
mosphere to the lovely 
room, that is gracious 
background for beauty. 
Every piece reflects 
the maker’s integrity, 
and proves the spirit 
of careful craftsman¬ 
ship in which it was 
made. 
S. KARPEN ^ BROS. 
NEW YORK 
Louh XVtli banqjtetter or long stool 
Tables and Chairs of 18th Century France 
{Continued from page SI) 
elements. But aside from this change, 
there was another factor that is often 
overlooked. While the Style Louis Seize 
was emphatically rectilinear, in contra¬ 
distinction to the curvilinear genius of 
the Style Louis Quinze, and while all 
its contours spoke of unmistakable 
Classic ■ sources, the diminished, lighter 
scale introduced in the reign of Louis 
XV was retained. This characteristic 
will explain the fact that Louis Seize 
furniture can often be used with Louis 
Quinze, although many of their funda¬ 
mental principles are diametrically op¬ 
posite. 
In the ensuing Directoire period the 
utmost emphasis was laid upon archaeo¬ 
logical exactitude; the naturalistic prop¬ 
erties and the realism that had imparted 
a playful and festive tone to Louis Seize 
creations were discarded and the chief 
reliance for charm was placed upon se¬ 
vere grace of line. • 
Directoire and Empire 
One cannot help regretting that the 
Directoire period was of such short du¬ 
ration. It had scarcely become estab¬ 
lished and attained the first stage of a 
richly promising maturity when it was 
forced to yield to the heavier and more 
insistent spirit of Empire design. 
The Empire Style, though retaining 
some of the elements that had given the 
Directoire its distinction, and though 
drawn from the same fountain of in¬ 
spiration in Classic antiquity, interpreted 
its sources in a wholly different manner 
that too often savored of self-con- 
{Continued on page 60) 
Directoire armchair with 
square back and lyre motif 
Two Louis XVIth chairs. Courtesy of the 
Pennsylvania Museum 
