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Lot Essay
Louis I. Cresson, maître in 1738.
Of grand proportions and featuring sumptuous yet restrained and balanced carving, lots 60 and 61 are products of the symmetrical Rococo style, known as the rocaille symmétrisé and they represent a move closer to the fully-developed Louis XVI style. The rocaille symmétrisé, termed by Bill Pallot in his seminal work on French chairs L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe Siècle en France, is characterized by the symmetry in the Rococo forms and a frozen quality of the curves. At the advent of the rocaille symmétrisé, the decoration is always treated in high relief and is grouped around the most important points: the top of the backrest, the center of the seat, the shoulders and the knees. The primary design element present at these points on the bergères are deeply-carved cartouches, which were a preferred decorative features of members of a contemporaneous dynasty of menuisiers, the Tilliards.
THE CRESSONS
The Cresson dynasty of menuisiers was founded by the brothers Charles and Jean Cresson during the Règence and continued by their sons, Jean-Baptiste, Louis I, René and Michel, during the first half of the eighteenth century. The Cressons, among the most talented menuisiers of the era, shared a workshop on the rue de Cléry au Gros Chapelet and not surprisingly, there exist common traits in all their documented work. These bergères were made around 1750 and bear the stamp L.CRESSON. As ten members of the Cresson family were masters of the Corporation des Menuisiers-Ébénistes of Paris, four of whom were called Louis, it is impossible to ascertain which Louis Cresson is responsible for these wonderful bergères. However, it is most likely that it was Louis I Cresson, whose Parisian workshop called L’image de Saint-Louis was a popular destination among his clients looking for the most fashionable pieces. Giltwood bergères carved with comparable cartouches and also from the Cresson workshop sold Christie’s, London, 9 February 2023, lot 76 (£113,400) and Christie’s, New York, 20 October 2006, lot 764 ($216,000).
Of grand proportions and featuring sumptuous yet restrained and balanced carving, lots 60 and 61 are products of the symmetrical Rococo style, known as the rocaille symmétrisé and they represent a move closer to the fully-developed Louis XVI style. The rocaille symmétrisé, termed by Bill Pallot in his seminal work on French chairs L'Art du Siège au XVIIIe Siècle en France, is characterized by the symmetry in the Rococo forms and a frozen quality of the curves. At the advent of the rocaille symmétrisé, the decoration is always treated in high relief and is grouped around the most important points: the top of the backrest, the center of the seat, the shoulders and the knees. The primary design element present at these points on the bergères are deeply-carved cartouches, which were a preferred decorative features of members of a contemporaneous dynasty of menuisiers, the Tilliards.
THE CRESSONS
The Cresson dynasty of menuisiers was founded by the brothers Charles and Jean Cresson during the Règence and continued by their sons, Jean-Baptiste, Louis I, René and Michel, during the first half of the eighteenth century. The Cressons, among the most talented menuisiers of the era, shared a workshop on the rue de Cléry au Gros Chapelet and not surprisingly, there exist common traits in all their documented work. These bergères were made around 1750 and bear the stamp L.CRESSON. As ten members of the Cresson family were masters of the Corporation des Menuisiers-Ébénistes of Paris, four of whom were called Louis, it is impossible to ascertain which Louis Cresson is responsible for these wonderful bergères. However, it is most likely that it was Louis I Cresson, whose Parisian workshop called L’image de Saint-Louis was a popular destination among his clients looking for the most fashionable pieces. Giltwood bergères carved with comparable cartouches and also from the Cresson workshop sold Christie’s, London, 9 February 2023, lot 76 (£113,400) and Christie’s, New York, 20 October 2006, lot 764 ($216,000).