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French Empire

The French Empire style was an elaboration of the stilted “ classicism” adapted from Grecian and Roman design by the Revolution, marked by great lavishness in the display of painting, gilding, the use of bronze mountings and rich textiles. Republican symbolism, with the exception of the tricolour, was eliminated, being replaced by the imperial eagle (of Roman type, quite distinct from the Medieval bird, golden bees, and the crowned or laurelled N.

Architectural features were severely classical, though latterly of the Corinthian and Composite Orders, with an admixture of Egyptian details such as the obelisk, pylon, and pyramid forms.

Walls, as a rule, were overloaded with decoration. A frequent treatment of the wall was this: a two-stepped skirting with dado above occupying one-fourth of the height; above the middle space an entablature (plain moulding, deep frieze, and complicated cornice) also occupying one-fourth of the height. The dado was usually divided into panels, decorated with low-relief work (or imitations thereof), trophies or medallions; frequently the division marks are sculptured torches or slim drop garlands. The middle portion would be provided with clear spaces for pictures, mirrors or painted panels, these surrounded by a rather incongruous assortment of wreaths, festoons looped over masks o, chimeras, Muses, winged figures of Victory and Fame, and other motifs. The frieze would contain moulded or painted figures, undraped or in classic drapery, trophies, or the anthemion, palmettes, the ever-recurring torches and trophies. Ceilings were lavishly decorated, but with niggling, straggling details, neither strong enough for mass effects nor clear enough for pictorial design.

There was little carving, but a good deal of rich inlay, free use of statuary and low-relief panels, also of gilt bronze mountings, framed mirrors, girandoles, etc. Men’s figures in the smaller sculptures and paintings are often undraped or partly draped, and are of heavy build; the female figures are tall, slender, and dance on air, winged Victory, Fame, and the Muses and Graces being special favourites. There are also termini figures, chimeras, sphinxes, griffons, and eagles. Other frequent motifs are bees, stars, the acanthus leaf, honeysuckle, pineapples, palmettes, rosettes, palm branches (straight, curved, or two tied in the form of a crown), wreaths of laurel and oak leaves and festoons. The arrangement of these garlands and wreaths is formal (thick circular ropes, with closely fitting leaves, berries, acorns, and flowers). Arabesques are of the grotesque order, human heads appearing as blossoms, human figures, beasts, and birds growing out of leaves and branches.

The colour tones are low. Walls and ceilings have backgrounds of buffs and greys, with arabesques, garlands, trophies, etc. in light shades of brown, pale and dark yellow, blues, dull greens, and reds. Persier and Fontaine were fond of” grisailles sur fonds clairs.” On the other hand, there was a good deal of gilding on plain white, milky blues, or brownish pinks.

The Empire style as adopted in England, though much heavier and more clumsy in the matter of furniture and bronze mounts, was less extravagant in the matter of decoration. There was far less overloading, little use of arabesques of the grotesque order; the eagle was replaced by the swan (also used in France), the bee by the rosette, and the crowned N by the Prince of Wales’s feathers. Gold and white, with pale tints, including the monochrome “gnisailles,” buffs and greys, were the prevailing colour combinations.