Restoration period
From 1815 to 1830.
The Restoration is the period when the Bourbon kings returned to the French thrown, in the context of a constitutional monarchy. Louis XVIII and his successors favoured 17th and 18th century classicism in an attempt to erase the memory of the Napoleonic adventure. However Napoleonic furniture continued without the Imperial symbols.
The duchess of Berry, daughter in law of Louis XVIII was the patron and inspiration for this new colourful and polychromatic taste. This was the birth of the medievalist movement, which led to the neo-Gothic style. Borrowing shapes and forms from the Gothic, Louis XIII and Renaissance styles, the Restoration was very eclectic, more a reinterpretation than an exact copy of the historical styles.
During this period, the Troubadour style which had emerged at the beginning of the century among a small avant-garde, became more popular.
- photo 1: A focus on comfort with a new layout for living furniture in this Anonymous Project of 1820, Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris.
- photo 2: An office, Restoration style.
