Chimneypiece
The principal source not only of heat but also of light, the fireplace was one of the focal points in the eighteenth-century interior. Various materials could be used for the mantle but in the eighteenth-century France, marble was often selected such as Brèche d’Alep, a popular marble showing colored inclusions in brown, grey, red or black colors against a yellow ground.
Consisting of two uprights in the shape of consoles with a voluted capital at the top, and a frieze carved with a rocaille shell in the center, this mantle reflects influence of the Rococo style. The bow-shaped shelf above was often used for the display of various objects such as a so-called garniture de cheminée, consisting of a set of vases of different shapes and sizes which would be beautifully reflected in the over mantel mirror behind.
Consisting of two uprights in the shape of consoles with a voluted capital at the top, and a frieze carved with a rocaille shell in the center, this mantle reflects influence of the Rococo style. The bow-shaped shelf above was often used for the display of various objects such as a so-called garniture de cheminée, consisting of a set of vases of different shapes and sizes which would be beautifully reflected in the over mantel mirror behind.
Artwork Details
- Title: Chimneypiece
- Date: ca. 1765–70
- Culture: French
- Medium: Brèche d’Alep marble
- Classification: Sculpture-Architectural
- Credit Line: Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, 1963
- Object Number: 63.229.2a–e
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Isidor Canevale
Johann Georg Leithner
ca. 1765–72, with later additions
French
ca. 1745
Multiple artists/makers
1784
Jean-Louis Lemoyne
1739–40
Jean Le Pautre
ca. 1665–70
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