The Impact of German Cabinetmakers on the Evolution of French Furniture Design in the 18th Century | ||
| Journal of Design Sciences and Applied Arts | ||
| Article 1, Volume 4, Issue 2, June 2023, Pages 26-41 PDF (2.16 M) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/jdsaa.2023.165036.1224 | ||
| Author | ||
| Inas Anous* | ||
| Interior Design Dept., Applied Arts, Helwan University. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| In the mid-18th century, a large number of German cabinetmakers immigrated to Paris, fleeing poor political, economic, and social conditions in Germany, and settled in the European metropolis of art. Few historical studies have examined the particular role that these German cabinetmakers played in furniture design at the time. Therefore, our research aims to investigate the influence of German cabinetmakers on the spirit of French furniture design, focusing on the innovations of the protagonist Jean-François Oeben and analyzing his mechanical furniture masterpieces. Our methodology is based on a historical approach that deals with the migration and integration of German cabinetmakers into the Parisian luxury market, the French court's infatuation, and the perception of society's elite for small, mechanical, and transformable furniture with the highlighting of Oeben's bibliography and career. The methodology is also based on the detailed analytical description of Oeben's furniture with ingenious mechanisms, which were his specialty. The research shows that some of the German cabinetmakers active in Paris in the middle of the century, through their experience and qualifications, influenced the world of furniture on several levels: new types of furniture demanded by a wealthy clientele, the intrusion of new rare and luxurious materials in decoration as well as the invention of sophisticated mechanisms, The German cabinetmaker Jean-François or (Johann Franz) Oeben is a key figure in French cabinetmaking in the 18th century and is the creator of mechanical furniture in France : multiple, convertible, and multifunctional. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Jean-François Oeben; mechanical furniture; German cabinetmakers; 18th-century | ||
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