Side chair (voyeuse à genoux)
A number of highly specialized pieces of furniture emerged in the context of the eighteenth-century French salon, as is demonstrated by this voyeuse à genoux, a type of side chair that first appeared around 1740. Intended for spectators of card games, one version of the voyeuse consisted of a low seat to be knelt upon by women. Another version with a higher seat was for the male spectator, who would straddle the seat with his legs. Both types of chairs were fitted with a high back padded at the top, upon which the occupant could rest his or her arms. This carved and gilded wood version by Louis Magdaleine Pluvinet is an example of the voyeuse for women, a model that fell out of fashion by the end of the eighteenth century.
Artwork Details
- Title: Side chair (voyeuse à genoux)
- Maker: Louis Magdeleine Pluvinet (French, master 1775–85)
- Date: ca. 1785
- Culture: French
- Medium: Carved and gilded wood, light blue silk upholstery (not original)
- Dimensions: Overall: 35 1/4 × 20 3/8 × 16 3/4 in. (89.5 × 51.8 × 42.5 cm)
- Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
- Credit Line: Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, 1986
- Object Number: 1986.260
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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