. The book of decorative furniture, its form, colour and history . AN BERAIN. SKKTCH FOR CAPITALBY JEAN BERAIN. paratively innocent successor. The adulatory title of the Gift of God bestowed upon Louis his subjects is now applied only in irony; and the humble historianof fine furniture is thankful that upon him is cast no onus of dwellingat length upon the darker sides of eighteenth-century France. Yetwere the Louis on trial, a jury of designers, art craftsmen, andconnoisseius in the apjDlied arts would be their most lenient a jury would indeed be incapable of unbiassed verd
. The book of decorative furniture, its form, colour and history . AN BERAIN. SKKTCH FOR CAPITALBY JEAN BERAIN. paratively innocent successor. The adulatory title of the Gift of God bestowed upon Louis his subjects is now applied only in irony; and the humble historianof fine furniture is thankful that upon him is cast no onus of dwellingat length upon the darker sides of eighteenth-century France. Yetwere the Louis on trial, a jury of designers, art craftsmen, andconnoisseius in the apjDlied arts would be their most lenient a jury would indeed be incapable of unbiassed verdict, fordecorative woodwork, in common with all or nearly all the appliedarts, has cause for gratitude towards Louis xiv., xv., and xvi., whosecontinuation of the policy of Henri Quatre, Richelieu,and Louis Treize gave such a rich crop of woodworkmasterpieces to the world. Could one evoke an adequate vision of the menfamous and frivolous, the women fair and frail, whopeopled the court of Le Roi Magnijique in the daysof his zenith; could one see them again in the. SKETCH FOR CAPITALBY JEAN BERAIN. 40 305 306 DECORATIVE FURNITURE parts tliey played during those days, what mixed emotions wouldbe summoned by the pompous ostentation of the gorgeous spectaclespresented! It is to be feared that, however much the ubiquitoussocial reformer might condemn, his reflections would be but a weakand ill-appreciated aftermath to the feast of fashion, form, and colourpresented by the courtiers airing their costumes, wigs, canes, shoes,cravats, and fine manners, against a background of glistening marbles,mirrors, and the ebony, silver, gold, and tortoiseshell of the meuhlesde luxe. VERSAILLES There could be but one stage for such a scenic revival: Versailles,the most lasting memorial of Louis energies and ideals, with its magnificent palace and gardens, whose im-mensity in design was equalled by such furiousendeavours under the younger Mansart to com-plete its speedy transformation from a r
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