Lot Essay
'French' chair-making in Holland in the 18th Century
This magnificent set of chairs demonstrates the fashion for French furniture in the Netherlands in the second half of the 18th Century. French furniture was in fact imported in large quantities, which stimulated Dutch furniture-makers to counteract this threat to their livelihood and to emulate the fashionable French style. The first cabinet-maker in The Hague to advertise his products in this new style was Matthieu Franses (ca. 1726-1788), whose advertisement in the 's-Gravenhaegse Courant of 6 may 1761, stated that his pieces were 'faites à la Françoise' [sic]. (R.J. Baarsen, 'In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag', Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de 2de helft van de 18de eeuw', Oud Holland 107(1993), p. 162)
Whereas the more widespread interest in French ébénisterie only fully developed in Holland in the 1750s, French chairs were probably already imported on a large scale in the 1730s, which immediately motivated Dutch chair-makers to imitate these sought-after French models. Additionally, chair-makers working in this style referred to themselves as 'French chair' makers. The first to do so was probably Jan Emans (active before 1737-1760), who already promoted himself as such in an advertisement on 9 may 1737 in the 'Amsterdamse Courant'. (R.J. Baarsen, 'French furniture in Amsterdam in 1771', Furniture History Society Journal 29 (1993), p. 168 and note 24.)
The influx of French chairs did not subside during the 18th Century and provided a continuous incentive on the side of Dutch chair-makers to keep abreast with the latest French fashion. Some imitations of French chairs, particularly those in painted or gilded softwood, are entirely French in appearance, such as a pair of bergères in Amerongen Castle, which were made by The Hague chair-maker Adam Struys (1721-1782) to complete a set of giltwood furniture by Jean-Baptiste Lelarge (1743-1802). (Th.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, 'Amerongen Castle and its furniture', Apollo 80 (1964) p. 364.)
Chairs in the French style, which were executed in mahogany tend to follow French prototypes less stringently than the above-mentioned examples and would subsequently not be mistaken for French work. These chairs were nonetheless still described as 'French'. Even when the Haarlem chair-maker Petrus Josephus Honoré supplied the Regents' Chambers in Teylers House with a set of eighteen mahogany chairs in 1789, which are French-inspired to a certain extent but still unmistakably Dutch, he submitted an invoice which mentions them as 'mahogany French chairs, made entirely in the Antique style with hollow backs and curved seats' (J.R. ter Molen, 'De regentenvertrekken van Teylers Hofje te Haarlem, Antiek 15 (1980-1981) p. 320 and p. 338.)
The present set of mahogany chairs was conceived in this latter current in 'French' chairs-making in the last quarter of the 18th Century. Serveral carved features of these chairs appear in contemporary French examples. The fluted columns of the backs which are surmounted by small florally-carved collars and ball-finials for instance, recall the oeuvre of Jean Baptise Sené (maître in 1769), who incorporated all these elements in a pair of fauteuils which he supplied to Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1788 for her use at the Château de Saint-Cloud (F.J.B. Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, London, 1960, p. 140 and fig. 169) whereas the pierced foliate toprail cresting frequently appears in the oeuvre of Georges Jacob (maître in 1765) such as on a fauteuil in the collection of H.M. Queen Elisabeth II, which was supplied by the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre for the furnishing of Carlton House. (M. Jarry, Le Siège Français, Fribourg, 1973, p. 240 and fig. 250)
'The Cabinet of Jan Gildemeester'
The interior of the mansion of Jan Gildemeester (1744-1799) on the Herengracht 473 is depicted on a painting by Adriaen de Lelie (1755-1820), which is in the Rijksmuseum. These rooms, which housed Gildemeester's celebrated art collection demonstrates the prominent role played by the tapissiers or Franse behangers (French upholsters) in the development of interior decoration in Amsterdam in the second half of the 18th Century. Reinier Baarsen has revealed six of these tapissiers who arrived in Amsterdam from the Southern Netherlands or France in the 1760s and engaged in activities similar to their French counterparts. Besides traditional upholstery, the Franse behanger was able to provide and coordinate all decorative elements of a room in order to create a high level of unity which was so admired but also dealt in furniture and bronzes d'ameublement. (R.J. Baarsen 'French upholsters in Amsterdam', Furniture History Society Journal 21 (1985) p. 49 and p. 56.)
Jan Gildemeester's interior was redecorated between 1792, when he acquired the house and 1794-1795, when De Lelie painted this picture. Whereas the architectural shell of the rooms was probably executed after the design of the celebrated Amsterdam architect Jacob Otter Husly (1738-1796), the textiles and furniture were almost certainly provided by a Franse behanger. The main goal of the decoration was to provide a suitable setting for the art collection. The walls were hence covered with a plain material in order not to conflict with the pictures and the other furnishings were chosen accordingly. The walls are lined with a large set of mahogany chairs, the silk covers of which match the carpet. De Lelie left one chair uncovered revealing an elaborately-carved Dutch Louis XVI chair. Gildemeester's chairs are remarkably similar to the present examples and share the same distinctive ribbon-tied laurel cresting. These 'French' chairs were possibly executed by the talented Johan Jacob Breytspraak, one of several Amsterdam furniture-makers to combine - contrary to guild regulations - cabinet and chair-making in one workshop. Breytspraak was presumably occasionally employed by Franse behangers, but additionally worked for Jan Gildemeester on several occasions on his own account, as he is listed as owing Breytspraak ° 134.8 after the latter's death in 1795. (Baarsen, ibid, p. 53 and note 37.)
Johan Jacob Breytspraak
Johan Breytspraak can be regarded as one of the most succesfull furniture-makers in Amsterdam in the last quarter of the 18th Century, whose workshop - with 19 workbenches at the time of his death in 1795 - may have been the largest in that city. (R.J. Baarsen, De Amsterdamse meubelloterijen, Zwolle, 1992, p. 161, note 89.)
Breytspraak, who came from Leipzig, became master in circa 1770 and probably achieved a considerable amount of acclaim from the off-set of his career. Already in May 1772, he advertised his furniture as 'in the latest fashion' and specifically mentions 'een konst Cabinet met diversche Ornamenten, op het konstigste ingelegd...' (inlaid). (R.J. Baarsen, 'Andries Bongen (ca. 1732-1792) en de Franse invloed op de Amsterdamse kastemakers in de tweede helft van de 18de eeuw', Oud Holland 102 (1988) p. 45)
Breytspraak was one of four German cabinet-makers who worked in this technique in Amsterdam, and the considerable amounts of exotic timbers listed in the inventory compiled after his death, suggest that he produced large quantities of marquetry furniture throughout his career, in addition to more traditional mahogany items of furniture. This inventory lists several items of marquetry furniture and mentions - remarkably - 'Twelve inlaid chairs', indicating that Breytspraak produced inlaid chairs, which is highly unusual. (R.J. Baarsen, 1988, ibid, pp. 41-42)
Breytspraak may therefore be the maker of a set of marquetry chairs in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. These chairs are the only known Dutch Neoclassical chairs that are entirely decorated with marquetry. The marquetry decoration, such as the simulated fluting of the columns and the drapery motif on the break-front seat-rail, derive from the carved features which embellish the present lot. In addition the florally-carved collars with Ionic capitals and ball finials are identical on both, which can leave no doubt that both sets were executed in the same workshop. (R.J. Baarsen, Nederlandse Meubelen 1600 - 1800, Zwolle 1993, pp. 124 - 125)
Soestdijk Palace
This set of chairs was originally part of a larger set, of which ten are currently in the office of H.M. Queen Beatrix at Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. These chairs were however only brought to this palace in 1982, when the Queen moved to The Hague.
These chairs had originally been part of the furnishings of Soestdijk Palace - the residence of King William II (1792-1849) and Queen Anna Paulowna (1795-1865) - where they had been since the middle of the 19th Century, and are first listed in the salon of the Mistress of the Robes in the 1852 inventory. The chairs are also mentioned in the 1868 and 1880 inventories, and remained in the same room (room 38) which had become the salon of a lady-in-waiting. The chairs are additionally branded with a stamp composed of an 'A' beneath a crown, which was applied at the time of the 1868 inventory which was compiled after the death of the Dowager Queen. These chairs probably entered the Dutch Royal collection in the 19th Century rather than in the 18th Century, as most of the furniture in the Stadholderly collection was sold between 1795 and 1798 during the French occupation.
The earliest major acquisitions in the 19th Century were made by William, Prince of Orange (later King William II) and date from 1836-1837. These included several modern pieces, in the late Empire style, but also several 18th Century marquetry items of furniture, such as secretaires and commodes. (R.J.Baarsen et.al., De Lelijke Tijd, pronkstukken van Nederlandse Interieurkunst 1835-1895, Amsterdam, 1995, p.14)
These chairs may therefore have been acquired by Prince William, but it seems unlikely that he would have used them to furnish the drawing room of a member of the Royal Household rather than one of his own appartments. It is therefore probable that the initial set was seperated when ten chairs were brought to Soestdijk Palace in 1850 by the Mistress of the Robes of Queen Anna Paulowna, Justina Maria Wilhelmina, Barones van Nagell tot Ampsen, née Barones Rengers from her country seat Ampsen Castle and remained at the palace after her death in 1863.
See illustration
This magnificent set of chairs demonstrates the fashion for French furniture in the Netherlands in the second half of the 18th Century. French furniture was in fact imported in large quantities, which stimulated Dutch furniture-makers to counteract this threat to their livelihood and to emulate the fashionable French style. The first cabinet-maker in The Hague to advertise his products in this new style was Matthieu Franses (ca. 1726-1788), whose advertisement in the 's-Gravenhaegse Courant of 6 may 1761, stated that his pieces were 'faites à la Françoise' [sic]. (R.J. Baarsen, 'In de commode van Parijs tot Den Haag', Matthijs Horrix (1735-1809), een meubelmaker in Den Haag in de 2de helft van de 18de eeuw', Oud Holland 107(1993), p. 162)
Whereas the more widespread interest in French ébénisterie only fully developed in Holland in the 1750s, French chairs were probably already imported on a large scale in the 1730s, which immediately motivated Dutch chair-makers to imitate these sought-after French models. Additionally, chair-makers working in this style referred to themselves as 'French chair' makers. The first to do so was probably Jan Emans (active before 1737-1760), who already promoted himself as such in an advertisement on 9 may 1737 in the 'Amsterdamse Courant'. (R.J. Baarsen, 'French furniture in Amsterdam in 1771', Furniture History Society Journal 29 (1993), p. 168 and note 24.)
The influx of French chairs did not subside during the 18th Century and provided a continuous incentive on the side of Dutch chair-makers to keep abreast with the latest French fashion. Some imitations of French chairs, particularly those in painted or gilded softwood, are entirely French in appearance, such as a pair of bergères in Amerongen Castle, which were made by The Hague chair-maker Adam Struys (1721-1782) to complete a set of giltwood furniture by Jean-Baptiste Lelarge (1743-1802). (Th.H. Lunsingh Scheurleer, 'Amerongen Castle and its furniture', Apollo 80 (1964) p. 364.)
Chairs in the French style, which were executed in mahogany tend to follow French prototypes less stringently than the above-mentioned examples and would subsequently not be mistaken for French work. These chairs were nonetheless still described as 'French'. Even when the Haarlem chair-maker Petrus Josephus Honoré supplied the Regents' Chambers in Teylers House with a set of eighteen mahogany chairs in 1789, which are French-inspired to a certain extent but still unmistakably Dutch, he submitted an invoice which mentions them as 'mahogany French chairs, made entirely in the Antique style with hollow backs and curved seats' (J.R. ter Molen, 'De regentenvertrekken van Teylers Hofje te Haarlem, Antiek 15 (1980-1981) p. 320 and p. 338.)
The present set of mahogany chairs was conceived in this latter current in 'French' chairs-making in the last quarter of the 18th Century. Serveral carved features of these chairs appear in contemporary French examples. The fluted columns of the backs which are surmounted by small florally-carved collars and ball-finials for instance, recall the oeuvre of Jean Baptise Sené (maître in 1769), who incorporated all these elements in a pair of fauteuils which he supplied to Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1788 for her use at the Château de Saint-Cloud (F.J.B. Watson, Louis XVI Furniture, London, 1960, p. 140 and fig. 169) whereas the pierced foliate toprail cresting frequently appears in the oeuvre of Georges Jacob (maître in 1765) such as on a fauteuil in the collection of H.M. Queen Elisabeth II, which was supplied by the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre for the furnishing of Carlton House. (M. Jarry, Le Siège Français, Fribourg, 1973, p. 240 and fig. 250)
'The Cabinet of Jan Gildemeester'
The interior of the mansion of Jan Gildemeester (1744-1799) on the Herengracht 473 is depicted on a painting by Adriaen de Lelie (1755-1820), which is in the Rijksmuseum. These rooms, which housed Gildemeester's celebrated art collection demonstrates the prominent role played by the tapissiers or Franse behangers (French upholsters) in the development of interior decoration in Amsterdam in the second half of the 18th Century. Reinier Baarsen has revealed six of these tapissiers who arrived in Amsterdam from the Southern Netherlands or France in the 1760s and engaged in activities similar to their French counterparts. Besides traditional upholstery, the Franse behanger was able to provide and coordinate all decorative elements of a room in order to create a high level of unity which was so admired but also dealt in furniture and bronzes d'ameublement. (R.J. Baarsen 'French upholsters in Amsterdam', Furniture History Society Journal 21 (1985) p. 49 and p. 56.)
Jan Gildemeester's interior was redecorated between 1792, when he acquired the house and 1794-1795, when De Lelie painted this picture. Whereas the architectural shell of the rooms was probably executed after the design of the celebrated Amsterdam architect Jacob Otter Husly (1738-1796), the textiles and furniture were almost certainly provided by a Franse behanger. The main goal of the decoration was to provide a suitable setting for the art collection. The walls were hence covered with a plain material in order not to conflict with the pictures and the other furnishings were chosen accordingly. The walls are lined with a large set of mahogany chairs, the silk covers of which match the carpet. De Lelie left one chair uncovered revealing an elaborately-carved Dutch Louis XVI chair. Gildemeester's chairs are remarkably similar to the present examples and share the same distinctive ribbon-tied laurel cresting. These 'French' chairs were possibly executed by the talented Johan Jacob Breytspraak, one of several Amsterdam furniture-makers to combine - contrary to guild regulations - cabinet and chair-making in one workshop. Breytspraak was presumably occasionally employed by Franse behangers, but additionally worked for Jan Gildemeester on several occasions on his own account, as he is listed as owing Breytspraak ° 134.8 after the latter's death in 1795. (Baarsen, ibid, p. 53 and note 37.)
Johan Jacob Breytspraak
Johan Breytspraak can be regarded as one of the most succesfull furniture-makers in Amsterdam in the last quarter of the 18th Century, whose workshop - with 19 workbenches at the time of his death in 1795 - may have been the largest in that city. (R.J. Baarsen, De Amsterdamse meubelloterijen, Zwolle, 1992, p. 161, note 89.)
Breytspraak, who came from Leipzig, became master in circa 1770 and probably achieved a considerable amount of acclaim from the off-set of his career. Already in May 1772, he advertised his furniture as 'in the latest fashion' and specifically mentions 'een konst Cabinet met diversche Ornamenten, op het konstigste ingelegd...' (inlaid). (R.J. Baarsen, 'Andries Bongen (ca. 1732-1792) en de Franse invloed op de Amsterdamse kastemakers in de tweede helft van de 18de eeuw', Oud Holland 102 (1988) p. 45)
Breytspraak was one of four German cabinet-makers who worked in this technique in Amsterdam, and the considerable amounts of exotic timbers listed in the inventory compiled after his death, suggest that he produced large quantities of marquetry furniture throughout his career, in addition to more traditional mahogany items of furniture. This inventory lists several items of marquetry furniture and mentions - remarkably - 'Twelve inlaid chairs', indicating that Breytspraak produced inlaid chairs, which is highly unusual. (R.J. Baarsen, 1988, ibid, pp. 41-42)
Breytspraak may therefore be the maker of a set of marquetry chairs in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. These chairs are the only known Dutch Neoclassical chairs that are entirely decorated with marquetry. The marquetry decoration, such as the simulated fluting of the columns and the drapery motif on the break-front seat-rail, derive from the carved features which embellish the present lot. In addition the florally-carved collars with Ionic capitals and ball finials are identical on both, which can leave no doubt that both sets were executed in the same workshop. (R.J. Baarsen, Nederlandse Meubelen 1600 - 1800, Zwolle 1993, pp. 124 - 125)
Soestdijk Palace
This set of chairs was originally part of a larger set, of which ten are currently in the office of H.M. Queen Beatrix at Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. These chairs were however only brought to this palace in 1982, when the Queen moved to The Hague.
These chairs had originally been part of the furnishings of Soestdijk Palace - the residence of King William II (1792-1849) and Queen Anna Paulowna (1795-1865) - where they had been since the middle of the 19th Century, and are first listed in the salon of the Mistress of the Robes in the 1852 inventory. The chairs are also mentioned in the 1868 and 1880 inventories, and remained in the same room (room 38) which had become the salon of a lady-in-waiting. The chairs are additionally branded with a stamp composed of an 'A' beneath a crown, which was applied at the time of the 1868 inventory which was compiled after the death of the Dowager Queen. These chairs probably entered the Dutch Royal collection in the 19th Century rather than in the 18th Century, as most of the furniture in the Stadholderly collection was sold between 1795 and 1798 during the French occupation.
The earliest major acquisitions in the 19th Century were made by William, Prince of Orange (later King William II) and date from 1836-1837. These included several modern pieces, in the late Empire style, but also several 18th Century marquetry items of furniture, such as secretaires and commodes. (R.J.Baarsen et.al., De Lelijke Tijd, pronkstukken van Nederlandse Interieurkunst 1835-1895, Amsterdam, 1995, p.14)
These chairs may therefore have been acquired by Prince William, but it seems unlikely that he would have used them to furnish the drawing room of a member of the Royal Household rather than one of his own appartments. It is therefore probable that the initial set was seperated when ten chairs were brought to Soestdijk Palace in 1850 by the Mistress of the Robes of Queen Anna Paulowna, Justina Maria Wilhelmina, Barones van Nagell tot Ampsen, née Barones Rengers from her country seat Ampsen Castle and remained at the palace after her death in 1863.
See illustration