Second Empire (style)
The Second Empire ( German Second Empire ), more rarely the Second Empire , is a style of French architecture, urban planning and interior design during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. between 1852 and 1870. This style is also used by Napoleon III. ( French Napoléon trois ) called. The reign of Napoleon III. is differentiated in France as the Second Empire from the First Empire of Napoleon I (1799-1814). The style (premier) empire refers accordingly to the time of Napoleon I.
From France, the style of the Second Empire spread throughout Europe and also reached the northern American continent.
architecture
The Second Empire falls into the style epoch of historicism and was characterized by an eclectic mix of styles from neo-Gothic , neo-Renaissance , Louis-quinze , Louis-seize and Empire. Outstanding architectural examples are the neo-baroque Opéra Garnier , which was built from 1860 to 1875 and was named after its builder Charles Garnier , and the urban planning measures carried out by Baron Haussmann in Paris. The side wings of the Louvre are also a typical example of this style. There are overlaps with buildings of the Beaux Arts architecture , especially with modern steel structures, which were used more and more frequently due to advancing industrialization and the expansion of the railway network. Such buildings included train stations, exhibition halls, factories and large warehouses, the construction of which was only possible through the use of steel.
In North America, many buildings were built in this style, such as the Langevin Block in the Canadian Ottawa and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC , the 1871 to 1888 according to the architect Alfred B. Mullet was built.
The Garnier Opera in Paris, 1860–1875
Side wing of the Louvre
The Boulevard Haussmann in Paris
The Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC
The Langevin Block in Ottawa
Interior decoration
In the Second Empire, furniture and decorations were extremely luscious. Curtains, wallpapers and carpets often had exuberant floral patterns or many rocaille elements in the Rococo style . Simple wall paneling was covered with precious fabrics interwoven with gold and silver. Instead of just one curtain, several lengths of fabric were used, which were artfully draped. Fringes , tassels and other trimmings were common decorations for all textile furnishings. Armchairs were usually completely covered with fabric and sometimes also had lace covers . The seating furniture became more expansive and more comfortable. Upholsterers who made coverings from plush and velvet were just as much in demand in furniture production as cabinet makers . Black lacquer furniture with a colorful decor made of mother-of-pearl , leather , tortoiseshell , brass , copper or pewter became fashionable, which is why Bouller stores became very popular again. In addition to the well-known earlier styles, previously unknown materials such as pitch pine , bamboo and wicker made of willow or rattan were used for the furniture . They were combined with oriental , Chinese and Japanese influences.
The love of splendor that went along with the Second Empire brought forth some new seating furniture - paired with the need for comfort. These include the Crapaud ( German toad ), a low armchair with a curved backrest, and a circular sofa called Borne ( German boundary stone ) with armrests that the seaters had to share. The so-called Confidents , upholstered double armchairs in the shape of an S, and their variations for three people, the Indiscrets , are inventions of the Second Empire. Guéridons were still popular at that time, their table tops could now often be folded down for reasons of space and, like many other pieces of furniture, had colorful inlays or marquetry .
A crapaud
A Confident
As in architecture, many old styles experienced a renewed bloom in interior design, so that furniture and decorations were characterized by a pluralism of styles . The Neo-Rococo was particularly popular around 1850, but was then replaced by the Louis-Seize style. The Empress Eugénie , who had a weakness for everything related to Marie Antoinette , was largely responsible for this and was groundbreaking for the sense of style at that time. The many styles that existed at the same time were taken into account that the rooms of a house were completely furnished in one of these styles. A room was rarely furnished with furniture from different eras.
See also
literature
- Gabriel Badea-Päun: Le style Second Empire. Architecture, décors et art de vivre . Citadelles & Mazenod, Paris 2009, ISBN 978-2-85088-297-5 .
- Lydia L. Dewiel: French furniture . 2nd Edition. Heyne, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-453-41262-1 , pp. 125-126.
- Renate Dolz: furniture style studies. Beautiful furniture and furnishings from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Empire, Biedermeier and Art Nouveau . 11th edition. Heyne, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-453-41012-2 , p. 235.
- Christophe Renault, Christophe Lazé: Les styles de l'architecture et du mobilier . Gisserot, Paris 2006, ISBN 2-87747-465-8 , pp. 101-103.
- Marcus Whiffen: American Architecture . Volume 2: 1860-1976. 2nd edition MIT Press, Cambridge 1987, ISBN 0-262-73070-7 , pp. 211-214 ( digitized version ).
Web links
- style second Empire in the online edition of the Encyclopédie Larousse (French)
- Furniture in the style of the Second Empire - materials, techniques, characteristics (French)
- Historic Styles / Second Empire 1855–1885 (English)