Fauteuil en stoel 1895 - 1935

Léon Laroche made this print of a chair and armchair in the Louis XVI style. We can tell from the title that it was published in France. The print comes from a series called "Le Garde-Meuble," a journal dedicated to furniture design that would have been consulted by cabinetmakers and upholsterers. The print, with its precise rendering of the chair's form and ornamentation, speaks to the growing importance of design as a specialized field during this period. We see the rise of design publications and the professional designer working in collaboration with manufacturers. These Louis XVI style chairs, with their neoclassical lines and delicate ornamentation, also speak to the social and cultural values of the French aristocracy on the eve of the Revolution. The focus on elegance, refinement, and classical motifs reflected the tastes of a wealthy elite. To truly understand this print, one might delve into the history of French furniture design, the rise of the decorative arts, and the social history of taste in 18th-century France. The meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.