A Comparative Analysis of 18th Century French and English Chairs - Essay Example

These were heavily inspired by the reigns of kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Elsewhere in England, 18th century brought prosperity of unprecedented scale that led to a huge increase in the production of furniture with a distinctive English style. These styles are the Queen Anne style, Sheraton style and Chippendale style (Harwood, May and Sherman). The French chairs during this time were characterized by different leg styles. During King Louis 14th reign, French cabinet maker André chalets Boulle created revolutionary furniture that had legs which were figural, baluster and claw.

Also, Louis 15th chairs retained the same leg formation of figural, baluster and claw. Furthermore, the Louis 15th rococo style chairs had a signature ‘S’ shaped cabriole leg, shaped like an animals hind legs. The chairs during King Louis the 16th however had straight fluted legs (Stevens). Meanwhile, the primary construction material that was used in Louis 14th chairs during the baroque period was wood from chestnut, walnut or oak. These were sometimes left natural or were painted bright colors such as red, green or coated silver and even gilded.

In addition, precious woods and ebony were imported into Paris to be used as construction materials while pear and natural woods were used in the provinces. The finish often consisted of various metal and animal materials such as pewter and silver, along with tortoise- shell, horn and ivory (Clauston). Louis 15th rococo style chairs also used some of the material found in Louis 14th chairs including wood crafted from oak or walnut. In addition to oak and walnut, cherry, ash, plum, chestnut and olive were also used.

Louis 16th neoclassical chairs used walnut, ash and burled. Other construction materials used include steel, copper and bronze (Clauston). The posture and form of the 18th century French chairs was varied. During the era of Louis 14th, the chairs had modest curves and straight lines were prominent (Stevens).