After the death of Louis XIV (in 1715) there followed a brief period of regency of his nephew, duke of Orleans. From now on, the life of the nobility is no longer spelled out by a strict Versailles protocol. From the palace interiors, it is transferred to private mansions. Furniture becomes less overweight and more comfortable. The ornament ceases to be symmetrical

Passing the gallery

Materials prepared: Julia Sakharova

Magazine: N (87) 2004

Objects of the late Baroque as late autumn flowers. They are attracted to what is about to lose. To contemporaries the Regency seemed like a pause, between the styles. As it turned out later, very stylish After the death of Louis XIV (in 1715) there followed a brief period of regency of his nephew, duke of Orleans. From now on, the life of the nobility is no longer spelled out by a strict Versailles protocol. From the palace interiors, it is transferred to private mansions. Furniture becomes less overweight and more comfortable. The lines soften and acquire that bend that will become a distinctive feature of the future style - Louis XV. The ornament ceases to be symmetrical. The palmette, the shell, sometimes resembling an open bat wing, and acanthus branches are used. In addition to masks and fauns, charming female heads appear more and more often, plant and animal motifs are added later. It was at this time that interest in the East, especially in the art of China, increased. A curious detail: for the sake of women’s dresses (a special rigid construction to give the dresses pomp), the armrests of the armchairs had to be moved back to the back. Dressers lose straightness, "sprawling" and rounding. The rounded corners of furniture are often decorated with overlays in the form of embossed female heads, “growing out” of the legs, as if from a stem. All interiors are decorated with many mirrors in luxurious frames. The interior, entirely furnished with Regency furniture, is difficult to imagine in the context of modern life. Precisely because it would be too heavy and heavy. But a few objects of this style is not something that does not interfere with the interior, on the contrary, will give it significance and help create the very atmosphere of the family nest, to which we so strive, choosing the classics.Return to the Library of Styles