TheLouis XV style orLouis Quinze (/ˌluːiˈkæ̃z/,French:[lwikɛ̃z]) is a style of architecture and decorative arts which appeared during the reign ofLouis XV. From 1710 until about 1730, a period known as theRégence, it was largely an extension of theLouis XIV style of his great-grandfather and predecessor,Louis XIV. From about 1730 until about 1750, it became more original, decorative and exuberant, in what was known as theRocaille style, under the influence of the King's mistress,Madame de Pompadour. It marked the beginning of the EuropeanRococo movement. From 1750 until the King's death in 1774, it became more sober, ordered, and began to show the influences ofNeoclassicism.
The chief architect of the King wasJacques Gabriel from 1734 until 1742, and then his more famous son,Ange-Jacques Gabriel, until the end of the reign. His major works included theEcole Militaire, the ensemble of buildings overlooking the Place Louis XV (nowPlace de la Concorde; 1761–1770), and thePetit Trianon at Versailles (1764). Over the course of the reign of Louis XV, while interiors were lavishly decorated, the façades gradually became simpler, less ornamented and more classical. The façades designed by Gabriel were carefully rhymed and balanced by rows of windows and columns, and, on large buildings like thePlace de la Concorde, often featured grand arcades on the street level, and classical pediments or balustrades on the roofline. Ornamental features sometimes included curving wrought-iron balconies with undulating rocaille designs, similar to the rocaille decoration of the interiors.[1]
The religious architecture of the period was also sober and monumental, and it tended, at the end of the reign, toward the neoclassical. Major examples include the Church of Saint-Genevieve (now thePanthéon), built from 1758 to 1790 to a design byJacques-Germain Soufflot, and theÉglise Saint-Philippe-du-Roule (1765–1777) byJean Chalgrin, which featured an enormous barrel-vaulted nave.[2]
Interior decoration during the reign of Louis XV fell into two periods; the first especially featuredrocaille ornament, sculpted sinuous curves and counter-curves, often in floral and vegetative patterns, applied to the panels of the walls, often with medallions in the center. The panels large mirrors were framed in often framed with sculpted palm leaves or other floral decoration. Unlike the rococo style, the ornament was usually restrained, symmetrical and balanced. In the early period of the style, the designs were often inspired by French versions of Chinese art, animals, especially monkeys (Singerie) and arabesques, or themes taken from works of the artists of the period, includingJean Bérain the Younger,Watteau andJean Audran.[3]
After 1750, in reaction to the excesses of the earlier style, the designs and moldings on the interior walls were white or pale colored, more geometric, decorated with sculpted garlands, roses, and crowns, and ornamented with designs inspired by ancient Greece and Rome. This style was found in theSalon de Compagnie at thePetit Trianon, and it was the predecessor of theLouis XVI style.[4]
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The chairs of the Louis XV style, compared with those of Louis XIV, were characterized by lightness, comfort and harmony of lines. The traverse support of the legs disappeared, and the chairs were designed so one could sit back comfortably. The legs had a curving 'S shape. The carved decor featured sculpted fleurettes, palmettes, seashells, and foliage. Thedossier, or back of the chair, wasviolones, slightly curved like a violin. Several new variants of chairs appeared including thebergere, with stuffed upholstered arms,A confessional, with upholstered and padded arms; theMarquise, abergere seating two persons, with a low back, and short arms.[5]
Theconsole table was a table designed to be placed against a wall, usually used for displaying art objects; it was almost always in the rocaille style, with undulating curves, modeled after seashells and foliage. very sinuous, twisting rocaille modeled after seashells and foliage.
Thecommode was a new type of furniture which had first appeared late in the reign of Louis XIV. It was a chest drawers resting on four S-shaped legs. It usually featured gilded bronze ornament, but during the reign of Louis XV, it was also covered with plaques of exotic woods of different colors in geometric patterns or floral shapes. A particular variation, called thefaçon de Chine or "Chinese fashion" emerged, which contrasted the gilded bronze against black lacquered wood. A large number of skilledébénistes from around Europe were employed to fine wood Commodes and other furniture for the King. They includedJean-François Oeben,Roger Vandercruse Lacroix,Gilles Joubert,Antoine Gaudreau, andMartin Carlin.[6]
A variety of other new types of furniture appeared, including thechiffonier, a cabinet with five drawers, and thetable de toilette, a kind of desk-table with three shutters, the central one having a mirror.[7]
Later in the reign of Louis XV, between 1755 and 1760, tastes in furniture began to change. Therocaille designs became more discreet and restrained, and the influence of antiquity and neo-classicism began to appear in new designs of furniture. The Commodes became to have more geometric forms; the decoration turned from rocaille to geometric forms, garlands of oak leaves, flowers and classical motifs. A new type of tall cabinet, theCartonnier, made its appearance between 1760 and 1765. It took its inspiration from Greek mythology and architecture, with friezes, vaulting, sculpted trophies, bronze lion heads, and other classic, elements.[8]
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The dominant subjects of painting in the early reign of Louis XV were mythology and history, the same as those of Louis XIV. Later in the reign, when Louis began to construct new apartments within the palaces ofVersailles andFontainebleau, his tastes turned more to pastoral scenes and genre painting.Madame de Pompadour, the king's mistress, was also one of the major patrons of the artists of the period.[9]
The most favored artist of the King wasFrançois Boucher, He produced for the King art of every description; religious paintings, genre scenes, landscapes, pastorals, and exotic scenes, frequently featuring gatherings of cheerful and seductive nudes. As the king's other great passion was hunting, he paintedLeopard hunt (1765) andCrocodile hunt (1767) for the King's new apartments at Versailles. In 1767, near the end of the career, he was namedFirst Painter of the King.[10]
Other notable painters includedJean Baptiste Oudry, whose hunting scenes decorated royal apartments in Versailles, and were made into tapestries and popular engravings; the portrait artistsMaurice Quentin de la Tour andJean-Marc Nattier, who made portraits for the royal family and aristocracy; and the genre painterJean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin.[11]
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The sculptural styles of theGrand Siécle of Louis XIV continued to dominate during most of the reign of Louis XV. Madame de Pompadour was a particularly enthusiastic patroness of sculpture, and many busts and statues were made of her or commissioned by her. The most prominent sculptors of the early period were theGuillaume Coustou the Younger and his brother,Guillaume Coustou the Elder,Robert Le Lorrain, andEdmé Bouchardon. Bouchardon created the equestrian statue of Louis XV for the center of the new Place Louis XV (nowPlace de la Concorde) which was modeled after that of Louis XIV in the Place Louis le Grand (nowPlace Vendôme) byFrançois Girardon. After the death of Bouchardon, the statue was finished by another major monumentalist of the period,Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. In the later part of the reign of Louis XV, sculptors began to give greater attention to the faces; the leaders of this new style wereJean-Antoine Houdon noted for his busts of celebrated authors and statesmen, andAugustin Pajou, who made notable portrait busts of the natural scientistGeorges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon andMadame du Barry. Sculpture began to reach a larger popular audience during this period, thanks to reproductions made from terra cotta and unglazed porcelain.[12]
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In the later years of his reign, Louis constructed a major new square in the center of the city, Place Louis XV (now thePlace de la Concorde), with a harmonious row of new buildings, designed byAnge-Jacques Gabriel. He built other monumental squares in the centers ofRennes andBordeaux. He also constructed one monumental fountain in Paris, theFontaine des Quatre-Saisons, with statuary byEdmé Bouchardon; but it was poorly sited on a narrow street, and while it had an abundance of sculpture, because of the antiquated water supply of Paris, it produced very little water. The fountain was criticized byVoltaire in a letter toAnne Claude de Caylus in 1739, while it was still under construction:
I have no doubt that Bouchardon will make of this fountain a fine piece of architecture; but what kind of fountain has only two faucets where the water porters will come to fill their buckets? This isn't the way fountains are built in Rome to beautify the city. We need to lift ourselves out of taste that is gross and shabby. Fountains should be built in public places, and viewed from all the gates. There isn't a single public place in the vastfaubourg Saint-Germain; that makes my blood boil. Paris is likethe statue of Nabuchodonosor, partly made of gold and partly made of muck.[13]
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