Le style Louis XV
I’m not always in the mood for the filigree excesses of the rococo era but this French collection of 200 engravings from the reign of the hated Louis XV (1710–1774) is a treat. Peter Jessen is the compiler and the publisher is Guérinet, the house responsible for Friedrich Hottenroth‘s book of costume through the ages. The rococo I prefer is often at the weirder end of the scale where animals start crawling out of the foliage, ogees sprout webs and the sweeping flourishes seem to take on a life of their own. Jessen’s selection includes a number of such examples, in addition to designs for furniture and architectural decoration. Ludwig II would have eagerly taken this as a guide book.
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The etching and engraving archive
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Schloss Linderhof
• Oeuvres D’Architecture by Jean Le Pautre
• Saint-Aubin’s Butterfly People
• Filippo Morghen’s Voyage to the Moon