The Art of Living at the French Court Furniture and art objects from the 18th century

Furnishing the royal residences

Throughout the reigns of Louis XIV, XV and XVI, the French art of living developed and the royal residences were transformed accordingly. The Court of Louis XIV was officially established at Versailles in 1682, but the Sun King continued to use his palaces in Fontainebleau, Compiègne and Marly – and wherever he went, the decoration and furnishings had to be fit for a king.

French savoir-faire

This was the era of great French manufactories, with tapestries from Les Gobelins and Beauvais, porcelain from Sèvres, rugs from La Savonnerie and silks from the many workshops of Lyon. Cabinetmakers such as Charles Cressent, Martin Carlin, Jean-François Oeben and Jean-Henri Riesener became famous names. To meet the demands of the royal court, manufactories and workshops produced items ranging from precious furniture pieces, ceremonial dinner services and sophisticated scientific instruments to everyday objects.

Decorative arts at the Louvre

The idea of representing a particular historical period through a combination of architecture, interior decoration and art emerged in Germany in the late 19th century. The so-called ‘period rooms’ adopted by American museums began to present decorative art objects in purpose-designed, fully furnished interiors.

Experience the atmosphere of a great 18th-century royal or aristocratic residence in Paris or the provinces! Most of the period rooms display furniture and decorative objects gleaned from various châteaux and private mansions, but some show pieces that originally belonged together, from sources such as the drawing room of the Château d’Abondant in northern France, the Parisian mansion of the financier Marquet de Peyre and the Turkish rooms of the Comte d’Artois (Louis XVI’s brother) at the Château de Versailles.