Art Of The Day Weekly

French style

PARIS – What is French taste? How can we define it? Christie’s has done it by presenting a special selection. These are not masterpieces but rather pieces of decorative art with a perfect technique, that prove a know-how that has been transmitted from one generation to the next. In defining taste, the origin is often fundamental: the way of putting works of art side by side is not by chance but rather a well-thought out choice, by a real connoisseur, in this case Arthur Georges Veil-Picard (1854-1944). He knew how to create suspense for the greatest buyers of his time– Nathan Wildenstein, Jacques Seligmann or the Rothschilds -, or Arturo López-Willshaw, a great patron from Versailles in the period following the war. This particular selection includes miniatures by Ritt and Hall, vases from the time of Louis XV, céladon furniture of Jean-Baptiste III Lelarge, a wardrobe by Mathieu Guillaume Cramer in rose wood marquetry, all testimonials from the beginning of Louis XVI’s reign, but there are also snuff boxes decorated with gouaches, Meissen porcelain ink bottles, gilded bronze brackets and light fixtures.
• Le goût français : art décoratif du XVIIe au XIXe siècle at Christie’s on 29 April 2014

Know more