Day 181 - 18th century French silver bowl
August 26, 2019
The gallery numbers, I discover, make absolutely no sense in terms of chronology. Gallery 522 focuses on 18th century France, while galleries dealing with the French Renaissance have numbers in the 540s. C'est la vie. It will be interesting to think about whether later styles represent a continuation of earlier ones or a break from them. Both, I suspect.
Gallery 522 itself is a very grand space with high ceilings and ornately paneled walls. It is dimly lit by wall sconces and candelabras holding candles that emit a yellowish light, I suppose to conjure up the atmosphere of a great but windowless room in an 18th century palace. (Some of the lights flicker, as if the flames were real- can they be gas flames?) The furnishings include marble-topped console tables bearing bronze statuettes depicting the labors of Hercules, two Meissen covered vases, a painting of Louis XV at age 5 wrapped in an ermine robe and seated on a throne, and a portrait bust of the same monarch 42 years later, appropriately situated adjacent to a bust of Madame de Pompadour. I read that she specified that the bust should be sculpted of French-quarried marble in order to promote French industry - interesting testimony to her intelligence.
Gallery 522 itself is a very grand space with high ceilings and ornately paneled walls. It is dimly lit by wall sconces and candelabras holding candles that emit a yellowish light, I suppose to conjure up the atmosphere of a great but windowless room in an 18th century palace. (Some of the lights flicker, as if the flames were real- can they be gas flames?) The furnishings include marble-topped console tables bearing bronze statuettes depicting the labors of Hercules, two Meissen covered vases, a painting of Louis XV at age 5 wrapped in an ermine robe and seated on a throne, and a portrait bust of the same monarch 42 years later, appropriately situated adjacent to a bust of Madame de Pompadour. I read that she specified that the bust should be sculpted of French-quarried marble in order to promote French industry - interesting testimony to her intelligence.
The swirls of the furnishings, the gilding on the furniture and the paneled walls- they bespeak a kind of ostentation that seems far from modern tastes (or at least my taste). The gallery also has two display cases of 18th century French silver, most of which I find too elaborate. I can admire it in the museum without wanting it in my home. One exception is today's object, a covered bowl, about 7 inches in diameter and 3 inches high, that was made in the first quarter of the 18th century. I admire the (relative) simplicity of its design and the way that its undecorated surfaces allow the luster of the silver to shine through.
Comments
Post a Comment