September, 1918 
19 
I 
THE MISUNDERSTOOD LOUIS XV STYLE 
A Vindication of the Excellence of this Mode of Furnishing and Its Adaptability to Current Decoration 
H. D. EBERLEIN and ABBOT McCLURE 
N O decorative mode has been more misun¬ 
derstood in America than the “Style 
Louis Quinze.” No mode has been more griev¬ 
ously misjudged and maligned. The attitude 
does no credit to the American reputation for 
fair-mindedness and candor. Moreover, such 
unreasoning hostility and groundless assump¬ 
tion do a gross injustice to the genius of the 
French people in a period that produced what 
was unquestionably one of the great phases of 
decorative art. 
We have been too generally wont to look upon 
the Louis Quinze mode as an embodiment of 
vulgar gold and glitter, a medley of pallid and 
insipid colors, redundant ornament, meaning¬ 
less and frivolous motifs and tortured design, 
a very orgy of effeminate details made for and 
reflecting the ideals of 
a hopelessly corrupt 
and decadent state of 
j society. 
Who’s to Blame? 
For this misconcep¬ 
tion we must altogether 
thank the furniture de¬ 
signers and reproducers 
of the late 19th Century 
who were not ignorant 
but incurably afflicted 
with execrably bad 
taste, which they 
showed by picking out 
and emphasizing what 
was worst in the Louis 
Quinze mode and sup¬ 
pressing all the rest. 
They picked the defects 
for perpetuation and 
made a part appear as 
the whole. 
It is well enough to 
say that the Louis 
Quinze mode was syn¬ 
onymous with Rococo 
and that Rococo, when 
! it was bad—w h i c h , 
without warrant, we 
proceeded to assume 
that it invariably was— 
like the little girl with 
the curl was horrid. And then, convenient¬ 
ly for our self-satisfaction, we forgot the rest— 
when it was good, “it was very, very good.” 
And there is a vast deal that is good in Louis 
Quinze or Rococo, whichever you please to 
call it. 
No one will deny that in the Louis Quinze 
style there are undesirable features and exag¬ 
gerations aplenty and that exaggerations are 
very bad as exaggerations are apt to be. But, 
after all these are eliminated, there is a great 
residuum of what is truly sound and good, a 
body of design from which we may derive many 
a useful lesson and happy bit of inspiration 
for domestic use. 
Many Americans will be coming back from 
France with a broader understanding and ap¬ 
preciation of the French people and French 
ideals and truer perception of the character of 
French art than they ever before possessed. 
Besides that the worthy part of the Louis 
Quinze mode is a portion of our heritage, or 
rather of our gift, from France which most 
of us so far have failed to understand. Let us 
now fully recognize what the style was; let us 
appraise its refinement and grace, its rich and 
manifold diversity of expression, its gaiety and 
cheer; and let us see how much we have to gain 
from an unbiased survey. 
What the Style^Was 
By speaking of the “Style Louis Quinze,” or 
Louis Quinze Mode, we understand the whole 
decorative system to which that name is at¬ 
tached. That is to say ? 
both the fixed decorative 
background and also 
the movable furnish¬ 
ings which complete the 
composition. To con¬ 
sider a n y decorative 
system in a really con¬ 
structive way from 
which we may derive 
any benefit, it is essen¬ 
tial to take full cogniz¬ 
ance of both factors. 
Though distinct enough 
to be analyzed one at a 
time, they are really in¬ 
separable and form one 
homogeneous whole. 
This does not mean to 
advocate only strict 
period work or even to 
indicate a preference 
for it. In understand¬ 
ing this, as understand¬ 
ing all periods, the 
principles of consisten¬ 
cy and harmony be¬ 
tween fixed background 
and movables should be 
duly observed, for any 
furniture that has not a 
sympathetic back¬ 
ground is at a serious 
disadvantage. 
A Louis Quinze bedroom, formerly belonging to Madame de Lisle and now in America, 
shows the simplicity of the style. Woodwork is blue with pale cream moldings. The 
panels have blue ground with dull yellow decorations. Courtesy of John Wanamaker 
