Three Chairs, in Chippendale Drawings, Vol. I 1753

Thomas Chippendale made this drawing of three chairs, sometime in the mid-18th century. It’s a study in design, made during a time when the decorative arts were flourishing in Britain, and when the concept of the ‘interior’ was becoming increasingly important as a signifier of social status. The chairs’ visual codes speak of wealth and leisure. The intricate Rococo detailing is based on French models, but the Gothic and Chinese elements are typically English. The drawing is part of a larger volume of designs produced by Chippendale’s workshop, a kind of pattern book that customers could consult when ordering furniture. Furniture designs like these, mass-produced through workshops, speak to the changing social and economic structures of 18th-century Britain, when a growing middle class wanted to consume the trappings of aristocracy. To better understand this moment, historians consult archives, trade records, and design manuals, to give a sense of the complex social forces that shaped what we now call ‘art’.