PLATE LXV
The greater number of the designs on Plates [LXV.], [LXVI.], [LXVII.], and [LXVIII.] are taken from Percier and Fontaine. Plate [LXIV.] is a reproduction of one of Percier and Fontaine’s bedrooms. “The ornaments that decorate this room,” they say, “are painted in oil upon plaster; they fill, without being of any determined subjects, various compartments; and among them are pictures of fruit, fragments of ordinary objects, painted in grisaille on a light background.” All the furniture—the table opposite the bed, the tripod, the toilet, the bed and the frame over the mantel-piece—is covered with bronzes, enamelled paintings and incrustations of various kinds of wood. The isolated pedestal at the head of the bed is an armoire, which contains conveniences for the night. On the top of the tall column is a winged goddess under which statue the letters “La bonne déesse,” appear. The bed is of the form of the large drawing that is shown on Plate [LXVI.] The two chairs on either side of the mantel-piece the designers tell us were made by Jacob. The detail No. 3, on Plate [LXVII.] is an enlargement of part of the mantel-piece, the fire-back of which represents the forge of Vulcan. The open-worked grate is copper gilt. The designs on Plates [LXVI.] and [LXVII.] are all by Percier and Fontaine, No. 1. on Plate [LXVI.], they say, is an arm-chair to stand in front of a desk; No. 2. is a lustre made of rock-crystal and bronze; No. 3 is a sofa-bed, and below it is a large sofa bed that was designed for a patron who was fond of war and sport. The hangings and the decorations of the wall behind the bed are therefore repeated here. The frame of the mirror is of gilded bronze. The glass swings forward. The rich commode with drawers on Plate [LXVII.] is an excellent example of the Percier and Fontaine work; above it, No. 2, is another commode and above that No. 1 the end of a bureau. Of the secretary on the same plate, they say: “This little piece of furniture, designed to preserve books, papers and money, has a clock in the upper part; below are secret drawers; in the centre a rolling cylinder and writing table. Chimæras on each side of the table support girandoles for lights. The whole is made of different kinds of wood ornamented with bronzes.”
The rich sofa, or “double chair,” and the sofa-bed, on Plate [LXVIII.] are also by these designers. Of the tea-table on Plate [LXV.], they tell us: “The design of this table was sent to Russia so that it might be executed there in porcelain and bronze; the compartments and ornaments that decorate the table have to be painted in colour with the background and the parts that stand out in relief of gold. The principal subject is the birth of Amphitrite, who is surrounded by Tritons and dolphins.”
PLATE LXVI
The cornice and lambrequin are unknown to the Directoire period; a pole ending in an arrow, or thyrsus, supports two curtains of calico, or silk. These curtains are relieved by a Greek border. The Empire taste demands a little more. Satins and velvets are added to the above. The drapery becomes very ample and beneath them are thin muslin curtains embroidered in dots, stars and squares. Sometimes two rods are used at each window to support the inner and outer curtains. A very fashionable method of furnishing the window was to have two curtains of silk and two of muslin. Decorative borders were used for these. The cornice is restored, and consists of the palm, the thyrsus, a bow, or a laurel wreath in gilded bronze, or painted wood. The colours of these draperies are limited. There are but five strong hues—crimson, green, blue, yellow and white—and there are no shades of these.
There was a tendency for patterns to become smaller; damask was ornamented with little figures, or stripes; Gobelin tapestries were supplanted by designs in grisaille on a red, blue, or green background. These many printed stuffs had pictures derived from Greek, Egyptian, or Roman subjects, or mythology, and appeared as if printed on paper.
The bed used during the Directoire was larger than the Louis XVI. bed.
Generally speaking, the beds were low; and were furnished with one or two mattresses. Some of them had head and footboards of equal height; others had only one headboard. During the Empire, the beds, most frequently of mahogany, were ornamented with gilded bronze trimmings. The frames were also painted with decorations painted in bronze effects. Some of the beds were rounded, or scrolled at the ends, some had pans à bateau and some had pilasters supporting vases, busts and even statuettes. The curtain was used. For some styles of beds, the curtains were cast negligently over an arrow. Beds were also made in forms appropriate to the calling of their owners. Some of the shapes seem to have been inspired by the models of Du Cerceau and Bérain in the days of Louis XIV.; for instance, the boat and shell. In 1792, we hear of a bed shaped like a shell, with blue and white curtains. Lafayette had a bed like this.
The beds often had ends of heavy scrolls and most of them had the headboard and footboard of equal height. The round bolster appears at each end, or a cushion that follows the form of the scroll, as shown in the full drawing on Plate [LXVIII.] The canopy was frequently in the shape of a crown, and from it hung the curtains. The heavy curtain was not unfrequently accompanied with a thin diaphanous curtain that was formally draped.