History of painted furniture
Painting furniture has been born from the need of decorating
a piece of
furniture without sculpting it, as sculpture is too expensive
for many
people.
We have come across painted furniture ever
since the 16th century AD and
this has occurred in almost all the European countries, starting
with
Sweden, Switzerland, England, the Low countries, Catalonia,
Alsace,
Normandy, Southern Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary,
crossing
Transylvania, all the way to Russia and the Baltic countries.
In the countries situated in Northern Europe,
most of the motifs are
rustic and stern (almost all painted in the Camaieu technique):
abstract
flowers, country houses, surrounding churches, farm animals,
naively
painted, as well as many motifs based on the 18th century French
Rococo(mostly in Sweden)
In England the popular works are those of
the 19th century ad which were
influenced by the success of the Victorian gardens, delicately
shaped
roses painted on a temperate or a clear background.
In Alsace the furniture the future bride
had as a dowry, was being
exposed for everyone to see. It was decorated in colorful motifs,
such as
beige or red on a light blue background, or red and green on
a brown
background.
Normandy was the country that produced during
the 17th and 19th centuries
many trunks and chests for the purposes of carrying laces and
jewels to
the Orient or for using them as bottom drawers, all bearing
motifs such
as tulips, roses, long or punctured leaves and birds used to
symbolize
marriages, motifs which used to be painted mostly on stern
backgrounds.
In the Netherlands, where
Amsterdam is a powerful cultural centre, they
used floral motifs which would either surround religious, or
naval scenes
characteristic to this area. We can still find now days in
this area of
the Netherlands museums or boutiques with painted furniture,
or else
artisans painters which give life to that place through their
paintings.
In Italy, under the influence of the German
and Alsatian neighbors, there
developed a different kind of painted furniture. They passed
from painted
furniture to a higher level of ornamentation which was meant
for the rich
and the clergy. The bottom drawers have architectural designs
which date
from the Renaissance. Then, there came a time when their fashion
trend
had set only to rise in the 18th century. Characteristic to
this period
are the roses, the garlands or the country side landscapes,
which came to
be painted on wardrobes, chest of drawers or clavichords.
In Germany the Tolz rose is a very charming
symbol. This small round
rose came to life in northern Bavaria. Curled around itself
it is usually
exposed as garlands or bunches in vases.
Beginning with the 17th century the tulip was one of the favorite
flowers
symbolizing through its closing shape the fertility; this is
the reason
why is omnipresent on the bottom drawers ( the tulip which
originates
from Turkey got to Bavaria in the second half of the 16th century
).
Hungary and Poland also have a very interesting
inheritance as the motifs
are rich, colorful and very original. Here the void is the
enemy of the
motif.
The whole surface is very densely painted
: isolated flowers,
bunches of flowers, birds drawing close to geometrical forms,
the
decoration which is clear and precise and many times small
sized,
reminding more of an oriental design than of a Slavonic one.
In Transylvania the painted furniture has
been brought by the Saxons who
colonized the region and it has a very close resemblance to
that of
Southern Germany , however bearing the density of the Hungarian
furniture. The tulip, but especially the rose in various stages
of their
bloom are the most representative flowers. The bunches and
the garlands
are enriched with much more flowers, more or les abstract,
enchanting the
eye with the most charming colours.
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