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Lot Essay
Nicolas Heurtaut, maître in 1753.
This elegant fauteuil is a fine example of the 'symmetrical rococo' for which Nicolas Heurtaut's oeuvre is known. The generous proportions, unique profile, distinctive outline of the back, with its serpentine cresting and slightly waisted frame, as well as the characteristically exuberant foliate carvings on the cresting and rails can be seen on related armchairs illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIII Siècle, Paris, 1998, pp. 402-403 and B. Pallot, L'Art du Si©ge au XVIIIe Siècle en France, Paris, 1989, pp. 204 and 205.
Nicolas Heurtaut was remarkable for having achieved the level of master of two guilds; he was first appointed sculpteur en bois in 1742, elected maître menuisier in 1753. He worked as a master ornamental sculptor from 1742 to 1753 on the rue Neuve-de-Cléry, embellishing seat furniture executed by the likes of Claude Sené and the Tilliard brothers. In these eleven years studying, designing and creating natural forms in wood, Heurtaut inevitably became confident in the depiction of the delicate contours of these figures.
Heurtaut worked with numerous marchands-tapissiers and enjoyed the patronage of aristocratic clientele, which included the marquis de Villarceaux, the comte de Jaucourt, the duc de la Rochefoucault and the duchesse d'Enville.
This elegant fauteuil is a fine example of the 'symmetrical rococo' for which Nicolas Heurtaut's oeuvre is known. The generous proportions, unique profile, distinctive outline of the back, with its serpentine cresting and slightly waisted frame, as well as the characteristically exuberant foliate carvings on the cresting and rails can be seen on related armchairs illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIII Siècle, Paris, 1998, pp. 402-403 and B. Pallot, L'Art du Si©ge au XVIIIe Siècle en France, Paris, 1989, pp. 204 and 205.
Nicolas Heurtaut was remarkable for having achieved the level of master of two guilds; he was first appointed sculpteur en bois in 1742, elected maître menuisier in 1753. He worked as a master ornamental sculptor from 1742 to 1753 on the rue Neuve-de-Cléry, embellishing seat furniture executed by the likes of Claude Sené and the Tilliard brothers. In these eleven years studying, designing and creating natural forms in wood, Heurtaut inevitably became confident in the depiction of the delicate contours of these figures.
Heurtaut worked with numerous marchands-tapissiers and enjoyed the patronage of aristocratic clientele, which included the marquis de Villarceaux, the comte de Jaucourt, the duc de la Rochefoucault and the duchesse d'Enville.