Lot Essay
This hall bench is conceived in the Dutch version of the Louis XIV style, which, in Holland, is often referred to as the 'Marot'-style, after the French Huguenot architect and designer Daniel Marot (1662-1752), who fled north after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and was responsible for the introduction of the classical French court style of Louis XIV to the court of Stadholder King William III. Marot was the first architect in Holland to coordinate all decorative features of a room and to achieve a unity in interior decoration in the way Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) had done at Vaux-le-Vicomte and at the French Royal palaces of Louis XIV. This was immediately and eagerly welcomed and absorbed by the Dutch nobility and the court and entourage of King William III in Holland and England. (P. Thornton, Seventeenth Century Interior Decoration in England, France and Holland, New Haven & London 1978, pp. 43-45, 50 and Koen Ottenheym et.al., Daniel Marot, Vormgever van een deftig Bestaan, Zutphen 1988, pp. 11-13)
The style that Marot introduced to Holland was that of Paris of 1680, and even when the lighter Régence style became fashionable in France, Marot continued to employ his personal variations of the monumental Louis XIV style, probably largely relying on French prints. (Thornton, ibid, p. 44)
Marot produced a large number of designs for architecture and interior decoration, several of which were published in the form of prints, including, for instance: 'Nouveaux Livre de Bâtiments de differents Pensée', 'Nouvelles Cheminées à Panneaux de Glace à la Manière de France' and 'Nouveaux Livre d'Appartement'. (K. Ottenheym, ibid, p.105)
Marot's published designs also included a number of designs for garden seats, which bear significant similarities to the offered hall bench, both sharing a similar pyramidal outline and demonstrating a very distinct combination of scrolling strapwork, acanthus and floral trellis, typical for the oeuvre of Marot. These seats were intended as architectural features or 'landmarks' in the formal Baroque garden, which was perceived as an extension of the main house. It is not surprising that these garden seats are so similar to benches placed in the hall, as they probably had a multi-functional character and could be moved into the garden or 'buitensael as well. (H.J. Hijmersma, 'Een wijle van rust in de buitensael', Een gebeeldhouwde bank naar ontwerp van Daniel Marot', Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 31 (1980), pp. 279-284)
See illustration
The style that Marot introduced to Holland was that of Paris of 1680, and even when the lighter Régence style became fashionable in France, Marot continued to employ his personal variations of the monumental Louis XIV style, probably largely relying on French prints. (Thornton, ibid, p. 44)
Marot produced a large number of designs for architecture and interior decoration, several of which were published in the form of prints, including, for instance: 'Nouveaux Livre de Bâtiments de differents Pensée', 'Nouvelles Cheminées à Panneaux de Glace à la Manière de France' and 'Nouveaux Livre d'Appartement'. (K. Ottenheym, ibid, p.105)
Marot's published designs also included a number of designs for garden seats, which bear significant similarities to the offered hall bench, both sharing a similar pyramidal outline and demonstrating a very distinct combination of scrolling strapwork, acanthus and floral trellis, typical for the oeuvre of Marot. These seats were intended as architectural features or 'landmarks' in the formal Baroque garden, which was perceived as an extension of the main house. It is not surprising that these garden seats are so similar to benches placed in the hall, as they probably had a multi-functional character and could be moved into the garden or 'buitensael as well. (H.J. Hijmersma, 'Een wijle van rust in de buitensael', Een gebeeldhouwde bank naar ontwerp van Daniel Marot', Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 31 (1980), pp. 279-284)
See illustration