Armchair (Fauteuil à la reine) 1780 - 1790

Curator: What strikes me immediately about this chair is its ornate and gilded surface. Editor: Exactly! It’s a "Fauteuil à la reine," or armchair, crafted by Georges Jacob between 1780 and 1790. Its current home is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I see it embodying the decorative and Rococo styles of the era. Curator: Yes, and you can see that meticulous craftsmanship, the precise carving in the wood, and the gilded details—someone put a lot of hours into this. Think about the workshops. How many hands touched this piece, shaping the wood, applying the gold leaf, and weaving the fabric? This piece embodies the height of artisanal labor. Editor: And that labor was structured by strict social hierarchies. Who got to sit in this chair? It wasn't just anyone. This embodies ideas of power and status in pre-Revolutionary France. Imagine the lavish interiors, the silk gowns... it's a prop in the theater of aristocracy. Curator: Right. The choice of materials indicates that. Wood, carving, and, of course, sculpture. Each element has meaning. Also, what sort of glue was used? The joinery here speaks to lasting construction methods; how was this thing kept together? Editor: Definitely, the artistry on display signals privilege and gender. Rococo, and decorative arts in general, have often been coded as feminine, which has subsequently caused this style of art to be devalued. I find the chair really questions those divisions that permeate through much of the canonized art we discuss on a day to day basis. Curator: I agree entirely. When we focus on this level of detail and explore production methods, these so-called “minor arts” take on profound meaning for culture at large. To produce something of this size during this period also took a large dedicated space. And to move it…wow, this is definitely worth another look! Editor: Absolutely, there are many things the casual onlooker might miss about this Rococo treasure.