(1888PressRelease)
January 21, 2008 - 1The Gustavian furniture style began in the last quarter of the 1700s under King Gustav III of Sweden who came to the throne in 1772. It was a reaction against the more florid stylings of the earlier rococo style and was born out out of Gustav III’s extensive travels to france and attendance at the court of Louis XVI in Versailles in the earlier 1700s.
http://www.swedishinteriordesign.co.uk
Under Gustav III’s patronage, Sweden began to develop a strong neo classical style concentrating on symmetry, straight lines columns and Greco-Roman motifs. It was initially heavily influenced by the sumptuous Louis XVI furniture and design that Gustav had seen in France, but soon developed into a very Swedish vision of design which sets its apart from the French pieces that inspired the genre.
The Gustavian style we are familiar with tends towards the distressed Gustavian grey and off white of many modern reproductions. Although the grey colour scheme would have been usual in private guest chambers, servants quarters and in private family rooms, Gustavian furniture in the salon, ballroom, and other main entertaining rooms would have been made of glorious rich polished and inlaid woods or sumptuous giltwood, upholstered in fabulous damask silks and surrounded by trompe l’oiel walls and silk wallpapers with dramatic parque flooring.
In middle class families these would have been the prize family possessions and in the aristocracy was an important way to set your status and impress fellow courtiers, officials and the Royal Family.
Although drawing heavily on france, Swedish gustavian design also stole ideas on chair design from England as you can see in the 5 typical Gustavian chair designs which include oval back,straight back,shield back,bellman and others.
Empire (c1810-1830)
Again a strong French influence on Swedish design. The French ‘Empire’ style came to prominence in Sweden on the accession of King Carl XIV Johan (who was actually French and had been one of napoleon’s generals).
The Empire style again draws on Roman Antiquity for inspiration but has a much more martial, linear and structured feel to it. Unlike Gustavian pieces, It also heralded the use of a newly dark and polished wood – Mahogany - and featured intricate inlays and carvings.
The pieces also tended to be much grander and more impressive in size- highly polished and often mirrored with marble columns.
Carl Johan / Biedermeier (c1820-1850)
This style came about as a response to the middle classes for to an affordable and structured version of the grander Empire style. It combines a stripped down vision of the Empire style using a much less ornate vision that was also more sturdy and practical. It also incorporated elements of the current trends in German and Danish furniture and used locally available woods such as golden birch ,alder and elm.
It was simple and elegant with just a hint of the grandness of its forebears and remained popular through the 1800s.
