Publication : “French Rococo Ébénisterie in the J. Paul Getty Museum”.

DESMAS Anne-Lise (dir.), French Rococo Ébénisterie in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, 2021, 320 p.

Présentation de l’éditeur :

This catalogue focuses on French ébénisterie furniture in the Rococo style dating from 1735 to 1760. These splendid objects directly reflect the tastes of the Museum’s founder, J. Paul Getty, who started collecting in this area in 1938 and continued until his death in 1976. The Museum’s collection is particularly rich in examples created by the most talented cabinet masters then active in Paris, including Bernard van Risenburgh II (after 1696–ca. 1766), Jacques Dubois (1694–1763), and Jean-François Oeben (1721–1763). Working for members of the French royal family and aristocracy, these craftsmen excelled at producing veneered and marquetried pieces of furniture (tables, cabinets, and chests of drawers) fashionable for their lavish surfaces, refined gilt-bronze mounts, and elaborate design. These objects were renowned throughout Europe at a time when Paris was considered the capital of good taste. The entry on each work comprises both a curatorial section, with description and commentary, and a conservation report, with construction diagrams. An introduction by Anne-Lise Desmas traces the collection’s acquisition history, and two technical essays by Arlen Heginbotham present methodologies and findings on the analysis of gilt-bronze mounts and lacquer.

This open-access catalogue is available for free online and in multiple formats for download, including PDF, MOBI/Kindle, and EPUB. For readers who wish to have a bound reference copy, this paperback edition has been made available for sale.

Table des matières

Timothy Potts, Director’s Foreword
Glossary of Woods Used in French Furniture from the J. Paul Getty Museum Collection
Contributors

Essays
• Anne-Lise Desmas — Introduction: Acquisitions History of the Rococo Ébénisterie Collection
• Jessica Chasen, Arlen Heginbotham, and Michael Schilling — The Analysis of East Asian and European Lacquer Surfaces on Rococo Furniture
• Arlen Heginbotham — Technical Note: The Use of X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) in the Technical Study of Gilt Bronze Mounts in This Catalogue

Catalogue

Bibliography