97 - Jean-Pierre SAMOYAULT, "French Consulate and Empire Furniture." Published by Gourcuff & Gradenigo in 2012. Like-new in blister packaging.

Jean-Pierre SAMOYAULT, "French Consulate and Empire Furniture." Published by Gourcuff & Gradenigo in 2012. Like-new in blister packaging. This book is a comprehensive and original study of Consulate and Empire furniture. Its author, Jean-Pierre Samoyault, Honorary General Curator of Cultural Heritage, served as director of the National Museum of the Château de Fontainebleau for nearly twenty-five years before becoming General Administrator of the Mobilier National and the Gobelins, Beauvais, and Savonnerie workshops. Providing a precise and detailed examination of the various categories of furniture—seating, beds, chests of drawers, writing desks, console tables, tables, dressing tables, and others—he traces the emergence between 1795 and 1815 of two successive styles, formerly grouped under the term “Empire style.” Drawing on a wealth of iconography, much of it previously unpublished, his analysis highlights the work of leading designers (the architects Percier and Fontaine), the significant role of the Jacob firm in the evolution of forms, and the importance of patrons—wealthy private individuals (Récamier, Moreau, ...) or government circles (the Imperial Court from 1804 onward). *French Consulate and Empire Furniture* is the indispensable reference for any enthusiast, connoisseur, or specialist in the decorative arts of the early 19th century.