French Furniture and Gilt Bronzes

The exceptional collection of French decorative arts in the J. Paul Getty Museum contains more than 400 pieces, most of them dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This exquisitely illustrated volume brings together forty-four objects from the Baroque a Regence periods – roughly corresponding to the reign of Louis XIV and the years immediately following his death in 1715. The selection includes richly veneered cabinets, commodes, and desks; carved tables and chairs; and gilt-bronze light fixtures and firedogs that exemplify the superior craftsmanship and elaborate design characteristic of the Baroque style. Each object is described and analysed in terms of its style, use, provenance and published history, as well as its construction and alterations, materials, and conservation. With its meticulous attention to detail, this sumptuous volume presents a comprehensive overview of the characteristics that define French Baroque furniture.