Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Boiserie at the Metropolitan Museum

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Saint Marc, Bordeaux
ca. 1785
carved and painted pine
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Saint Marc, Bordeaux
ca. 1785
carved and painted pine
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Saint Marc, Bordeaux
ca. 1785
carved and painted pine
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Saint Marc, Bordeaux
ca. 1785
carved and painted pine
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris, Grasse
ca. 1774
carved, painted and gilded oak
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris, Grasse
ca. 1774
carved, painted and gilded oak
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris, Grasse
ca. 1774
carved, painted and gilded oak
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris, Grasse
 ca. 1774
carved, painted and gilded oak
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Varengeville, Paris
ca. 1736-52
carved, painted and gilded oak
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Varengeville, Paris
ca. 1736-52
carved, painted and gilded oak
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Varengeville, Paris
ca. 1736-52
carved, painted and gilded oak
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Tessé, Paris
ca. 1768-72
carved, painted and gilded oak
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

"The salon is the assembly room, used for festive occasions. It is here that the greatest formality prevails; in this room, magnificence must unfold; wealth must be lavished; and the Artist must deploy his taste and his genius. Marbles, bronzes, gilding, sculpture, painting, and glasses will come to his aid; tapestries, which we have raised to such a degree of beauty, may enrich the effect. Rock crystal for the lusters, girandoles, and candelabra; precious statues; the richest of vases; the rarest of porcelains; all may combine to improve the room."

 — Nicolas Le Camus de Mézières, Le Génie de l’architecture