Paris Art Market Buzz: A Boullienne Fantasy

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By columnist Paul Paradis, Art Historian, Specialist Consultant in French Furniture and Decorative Arts

The auction scene in Paris has been slow to take-off since the holidays so I decided to make the trip to Frankfurt on the TGV (high speed train) to see the exhibition devoted to the star French ébéniste (cabinet maker) entitled André Charles Boulle (1642-1732): A New Style for Europe.  The historic show features many rare pieces of furniture never before displayed outside their places of origin from 29 public and private collections, including the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, the Banque de France, Versailles, the Swedish Royal Collections and several German collections.  I knew that this was an opportunity not to miss.

The “direct” fast train journey from Paris turned into a fiasco since the TGV could only go as far as Saarbrucken where passengers had to transfer to a German intercity train. A friendly German waiting for the transfer train next to me in the sub-zero station explained that the French don’t like German trains which they claim are technically inferior. Oh well, so much for European integration.  In my former life as an economist specialized in European affairs, I had always been led to believe that European integration was seamless and all but complete.  It’s funny how different the real world can be.  By the way, the German train was luxurious (precious wood interiors, leather seats) and spacious compared to the French TGV.  Vive la différence!

Arriving in Frankfurt, I decided to walk across the river Main to the Museum für Angewandte Kunst MAK (Museum of Decorative Arts, pictured above) hosting the exhibition as it didn’t look far on the GPS of my personal digital assistant.  It turned out to be quite a trek.  The snow had melted leaving the sidewalks full of a black mush consisting of salt, gravel and who knows what else.  The wheels of my chic little brown suitcase protested but I forged ahead on the Shaumainkai (the road along the river hosting a row of museums) cursing myself for my irrational fanaticism of beautiful 17^th and 18^th century French furniture.  Lost in the mush and a daydream, I passed the MAK without even realizing it.  How could I have missed the glamorous sign featuring a naturalistic gilt-bronze lobster for the André Charles Boulle exhibition?  Having confirmed the exact address twice, I backtracked and found myself in front of a gate opening on to a non-descript courtyard featuring the above-mentioned winter mush, a wheelbarrow and plastic-covered scaffolding across the facade.  Could this be the Richard Meier building from 1985?  A small poster with the lobster was tacked onto a wall near a revolving door indicated the Boulle exhibition.  Not quite what I had imagined for such an illustrious craftsman, but at least I was in the right place. Already confused as to why the exhibition was being held in Germany to begin with, I was more than a bit baffled by the choice of venue and began to wonder whether it was worth the trip.

Cover of Catalogue to André Charles Boulle Exhibition (Photo: MAK)  

The lobby of the MAK is white and pristine, with two long stone tables angled across the entire area displaying books from various exhibitions.  Having purchased a ticket, one has to negotiate around these to a ramp leading to the entrance of the galleries. A cardboard photo replica (larger than life) of an astounding Boulle armoire from the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg featured in the exhibit welcomes the visitor who virtually passes through its open doors. (This seemed more like it!)  The Paris-based interior decorator to the stars, Juan Pablo Molyneux, designed the décor and installation of the show and this effective theatrical beginning was right down his alley. 

Entrance To The Boulle Exhibit by Juan Pablo Molyneux

The visitor then passes through another white ramp-like hallway to reach the real entrance to the galleries.  Molyneux selected a deep grey-blue fabric with a glittery sheen decorated with patterned motifs taken from Boulle marquetry to cover the walls of the entire space.   The first section takes the visitor down a rather dark hallway lined on one side with glass cases containing precious silver, gold and gilt-bronze objects made by other artisans, who like Boulle, benefited from the royal favor of a workshop in the Galleries du Louvre begun by Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) in 1565 and completed by King Henry IV (r.1589-1610) in 1609.  The idea of the former Queen was to adjoin her Tuileries palace (then under construction) with the Louvre by a long gallery along the Seine, but the years of religious strife under the successive reigns of her sons Charles IX (r. 1560-1574) and Henry III (r. 1574-1589) prevented the project from coming to fruition.  The gallery measured 443 meters and had five levels, the first four dedicated to artisans lodging and workshops.  

Henry IV established the privileged status for the artists in 1608 in a lettre patente (royal decree) in which he stated his express purpose of encouraging the flourishing of the arts in France through a sort of cross-pollenisation and co-operation. The inhabitants enjoyed the status for life which freed then from the strict laws of the guild system and granted other legal and fiscal benefits.  The system was very important to André Charles Boulle who was granted the prestige of a workshop in 1672, the same year he was named ébéniste, ciseleur, doreur du roi (cabinet maker, chaser, gilder to the King) by Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche (1638-1683), Louis XIV’s wife and Queen.   The space was too small for a furniture production workshop of any scale, so basically served as a calling card or prestigious address for Boulle who still possessed his family workshop on Rue de Reims on the left bank, and was eventually granted a large space of over 500 square meters in an abandoned theatre in the Louvre. (Jean Nérée Ronfort, exhibition catalogue)  In addition, the lack of guild control allowed Boulle, who was also trained as a sculptor, to create and cast his own gilt bronze mounts for his furniture.  From 1685, he possessed his own foundry, a critical aspect to the originality of his work.  Boulle also created objects purely in gilt-bronze such as chandeliers, clocks, firedogs, wall lights among others, which contributed greatly to his fame.

A precious and rare clock in gold and silver-gilt inlaid with enamel, diamonds and rubies by silversmith Josias Belle (1628-1696) and renowned clock maker Henry Martinot (1646-1725) bears witness to the high level of craftsmanship born of the Galleries.  Two majestic pieces of silver (a wine cooler basin and portable liqueur cellar) by Claude II Ballin (1661-1754), silversmith to Louis XIV also housed in the Grande Galerie du Louvre, provide extremely rare examples of Princely silver produced in the early 18^th century.  These exquisitely chased and engraved pieces were executed in 1712-1713 for the Elector of Saxony Maximilian II Emanuel (1662-1726) who was exiled in France at the time.   

Clock in Gold and Silver-Gilt Inlaid with Rubies, Diamonds and Enamel, by Josias Belle and Henry Martinot. (Photo: Paul Paradis)

Cave à liqueur, Claude II Ballin. (Photo: Paul Paradis)

The first section also presents a few small scale precious works by Boulle from private collections, extremely rare.  A pair of lozenge-shaped miniature pedestals veneered in tortoiseshell, inlaid with engraved brass, are a rare testament to the elegance of Boulle’s hand and provide a contrast to the better-known large scale works. The four masks in gilt-bronze representing Apollo and a satyr-like creature are typical of the master’s iconographic vocabulary.  

Miniature Pedestal (from a Pair),Veneered in Tortoiseshell and Brass Inlay, André Charles Boulle. (Photo: Paul Paradis)

The section also displays a series of rare drawings by Boulle for his famous set of engravings published by Jean-Pierre Mariette (1694-1774) Nouveaux Deisseins de Meubles et ouvrages de bronze et de marqueterie inventés et graves par André Charles Boulle, 1720.  It is fascinating to compare the warm red chalk original drawings to the final prints (which are also displayed) derived from copper plates engraved by Boulle himself.  The rich collection of Boulle’s drawings throughout the exhibit (four fifths of his existing work on paper according to Nérée Ronfort, curator of the expo and Boulle research expert) is one of the strengths of the show in my view.  Surviving drawings from cabinetmakers are unique and they provide a rare glimpse into the creative process.  Boulle was trained as a draftsman at a young age so his drawings are works of art in their own right.  One sheet (shown below) depicting a commode and a mirror, is particularly fascinating as its corresponding print is not known to have ever been realized.  Nérée Ronfort dates it stylistically to 1725, quite late in the master’s career.  

Projet pour une planche supplémentaire de Nouveaux Desseins (Photo: MAK web site)

Exiting the narrow hallway, the visitor enters the first large room of the exhibition which dazzles the eyes by its concentration and array of textures and colors.  A monumental tapestry of the triumphant Germanic Archduke Joseph, King of the Romans, taking over Landau in 1702, serves as a backdrop to the entire room.  The overall theme is the floral marquetry perfected by Boulle around 1660-1770 and the major pieces of furniture are all exquisite examples.  The large armoire mentioned earlier from the Hermitage (displayed outside of Russia for the first time since 1888) is a supreme example of the master’s prowess in this art. 

The panels on the front doors of the monumental piece depict naturalistic flowers in vases on pedestals, one with a bird delicately fleeting away.  The naturalism of the flowers is astounding, the tulips slightly wilted, one of Boulle’s signature effects.  Still life paintings of flowers by French painters Antoine Monnoyer (1677-1745) and Jean-Baptiste Blin de Fontenay (1653-1715) are displayed to remind the onlooker of the inspiration for these compositions. 

The side panels feature exotic parrots perched on oak branches, one with a realistic butterfly gliding by.  The technique of using various colored woods to create these intricate designs is known as peinture en bois (painting in wood) and one can easily understand this allusion while gazing at the masterpiece.  The variety of woods used to achieve the different hues for each flower petal, leaf or feather attests to Boulle’s superior mastery of the technique. One has to also keep in mind that the colors have faded with time and would have been extremely vibrant.  Boulle further innovated the technique by using tortoiseshell as the background veneer in lieu of ebony (the usual practice) starting in the 1670s, and different colored metals (brass, copper and pewter) as inlays by 1680. The armoire, dated 1690, combines examples of all of these.

Armoire From the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, c. 1690 (Photo: Paul Paradis)

The technique of combining tortoiseshell with pewter, copper and brass was highly perfected by Boulle and sometimes (annoyingly) bears his name as a generic cataloguing term.  The technique, called tarsia a incastro, requires placing sheets of the contrasting materials in a stack or packet (fastened temporarily together) in which the design is then cut using a special saw with a vertical steel wire, the bocfil.  The skill necessary to create the intricate scrolling patterns through the materials of highly different densities and strengths in this manner is quite extraordinary.  Once the designs have been cut into the packet, it is disassembled and the cabinet maker has created two versions of the same design, the positive and negative, which he veneers onto the carcass. The first called en partie, presents the design in lighter colored metals on a background of darker tortoiseshell.  The second, en contre-partie, depicts the designs in dark tortoiseshell on the light metal background.  The metals are also engraved with additional decoration to create relief.  The rectangular panels containing the hinges above and below the floral marquetry of the Hermitage armoire are executed en partie.  This armoire was conceived as a pair and its partner is conserved in the Louvre, although the base and cornice of the latter have been modified. 

Other sumptuous and rare examples are displayed in the same room, for example, two large bureaux plats both of royal provenance (Prince de Condé and Mademoiselle de Choiseul), obviously created together (one en partie and the other en contre-partie) in 1720, miraculously escaping the fire which devastated his workshop that same year. These are placed on a rich Savonnerie carpet (on loan from the French Mobilier National) originally created for the Grande Galerie du Louvre mentioned above. Molyneux decorated the ceiling with a replica of a rotunda painting reminiscent of Versailles, a dramatic and royal touch.  Seeing these two examples of Boulle’s signature furniture (he is thought to have invented the bureau plat) displayed together is a first, and allows the onlooker to compare the two versions.  The first is on loan from the private collection of AXA insurance, and the second, from Versailles. 

Bureau Plat of Mademoiselle de Choiseul, 1720. (Photo: Paul Paradis)

Bureau Plat of the Prince de Condé, 1720. (Photo: Paul Paradis)

A second floor devoted to the exhibition displays more rarities, like a pair of large cabinets having belonged to the 3^rd Duc de Feltre (1844-1930) which were produced at the same time as a slightly smaller pair conserved at the Louvre.  These luxurious pieces are invaluable witnesses since certain features, like the marquetry on the lower panels and decoration on the stretcher, provide unique insight to Boulle’s production methods, especially when compared to the pair in the Louvre (see J. Nérée Ronfort in the catalogue for more information).

A smaller more intimate space displays four of Boulle’s gilt-bronze chandeliers (one on loan from the Swedish Royal Collection) which help the visitor understand his skills as a sculptor, gilder and chaser.  These pieces are highly classical in their ornament and hence more difficult to place chronologically, but are testament to his creative genius. The popularity of lighting fixtures in gilt-bronze received a boost after Louis XIV’s first decree to meltdown all silver objects to finance his wars with the League of Augsburg in 1689. There is evidence to suggest that Royal and wealthy clients ordered pieces in gilt-bronze as replacements to their lost silver objects and Boulle was, of course, ready to oblige. A second decree in 1700 was more severely implemented but ironically, the same year as one of Boulle’s most important commissions: the complete refurnishing and redecoration of the Château de la Ménagerie at Versailles for Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie (1685-1712), Duchesse de Bourgogne, wife of Louis XIV’s grandson whom he adored.  

Cabinet of a Pair of the 3^rd Duc de Feltre, 1695-1700, Loaned by Groupe AXA. (Photo Paul Paradis)

Gilt-bronze Chandelier with Bacchic Masks from the Royal Palace in Stockholm, 1710-1720. (Photo: Paul Paradis)

The rest of the exhibition continues to dazzle with a combination of rare tapestries, like the famous Visite du Roi aux Gobelins, 15 octobre 1667 which depicts craftsmen presenting their precious creations to Louis XIV (all completed in the Royal workshops created by Colbert in 1662), and le Passage du Granique from the monumental allegorical set of tapestries Les Batailles d’Alexandre all designed by Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), First Painter to the King.  Rare bronze sculptures, including the famous Algardi (1598-1654) Firedogs, are interspersed throughout the rooms adding to the texture of luxury.  The visitor becomes soaked in the sumptuousness of the age and gains a clearer understanding of the context in which Boulle created his stunning works.  

It is impossible to do justice to the life’s work of someone as illustrious as André Charles Boulle in this article.  Jean Nérée Ronfort has devoted his life to the study of Boulle’s work and I would highly recommend the catalogue (available in French and German*) of the exhibition to anyone interested.  It contains detailed accounts of each piece, as well as the latest research on the chronology of Boulle’s life and work. The results of new scientific analysis for precise dating of the pieces, as well as insights into Boulle’s veneering techniques are also unveiled.  It will be my reference for a long time to come.  Ronfort is in the process of completing the catalogue raisonné of Boulle’s works, and I am excited at the very idea of it.  Some things are worth waiting for.

Since the pieces on loan are so rarely seen by the public, I simply can’t resist concluding with some highlights.  The exhibit ends on January 31^st so do hurry to Frankfurt.

Barometer, Executed for the Comte de Toulouse in 1720, Loaned by the Banque de France.  (Photo: Paul Paradis)

Hercules Clock by A.C. Boulle and Gilles-Marie Oppenord , c. 1712,  Loaned by Paris Musée des Arts et Metiers.  Cheremetiev Cabinet, Hermitage Museum (Photo: Paul Paradis)

Medal Cabinet Made for Jules-Robert de Cotte (1683-1767), Director of Money and Medals, 1723. Hermitage Museum. (Photo: Paul Paradis)

 

*André Charles Boulle 1642-1732 Un nouveau style pour l’Europe, coédition Samogy / Museum für Angewandte Kunst, 472 p., 55 €.

 

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