Louis-Philippe
Monarchs give rise to Styles. One has only to think Victorian or Georgian. People know instinctively what the Louis-Philippe (1830 to 1848) style is. They may not be able to describe it but can recognise it. It’s pretty, dainty, delicate, elegant yet practical. Chairs and small tables were fitted with castors. Marble was used a lot. As was mahogany, beech, ebony, rose wood, walnut, cherry and pear.
The furniture industry grew at this time with the industrialization of cabinet making involving the use of machine tools.
Small occasional tables come into fashion. Sewing tables, side tables for guests sitting on canapés, cylindrical bedside tables, narrow dressing tables with drawers and lift up table tops of white marble and a mirror. We even see the beginning of the ubiquitous coffee table. Upholstery becomes more comfortable, canapés and chairs are padded with horsehair and/or springs. The chaise longue is still very popular as is the nest of drawers.
Fans of the Louis-Philippe style are in for a treat at Chateau Amboise. His fabulous study is the epitome of the style. His bedroom has a beautiful Madame Récamier bed which were at the height of fashion. His salon has one of the first grand pianos from the Érard factory in Paris. Founded in 1780, the clientele was the French aristocracy and the royal family (Marie-Antoinette was one of their first customers). Franz Liszt was a family friend. Pierre Érard was the leading European manufacturer of harps. In 1931 Érard bought out Pleyel, their biggest rival, but kept the Pleyel brand. Pleyel was a friend of Haydn and Mozart. By 1834, Pleyel was producing a thousand pianos a year. Chopin, Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Stravinsky all bought Pleyel pianos.
Precisely how long Louis-Philippe spent in Château Amboise is anyone’s guess. Someone who survived seven assassination attempts was not likely to advertise his movements but he was here long enough to oversee the purchase and removal of the buildings abutting the castle walls, the better to defend them, the building of an escape tunnel under the Chateau and the building of a new kitchen wing on top of the Garçonnet Tower so he must have been expecting to spend time here. As with so many kings of France before him, he intended the Château as a safe haven and a family retreat.
Post by Pamela
