Traditional Italian Furniture

Renaissance

• During the Renaissance, wealth increased in Italy; and the bourgeoisie, the middle class, sought good furniture. In the first part of the period, Italian furniture was simple, with enriching designs in carved walnut. Later, the furniture became more elaborate: low relief (forms and figures sculpt on a plane surface) decorated surfaces as did detailed patterns of stucco (a fine plaster molded into ornamental forms). The cassone, a marriage chest, was an important piece to which craftsmen gave great attention. The writing desk, at first a simple flat table, crafted during the early Renaissance later became the writing bureau, the flat table with multiple drawers added to it. The Dante chair, a folding chair shaped like an "X," appeared at this time.

Baroque and Rococo styles

• Baroque Italian furniture evolved from the ornate style of Italian architecture, painting and sculpture prevalent during this period. Italy's furniture makers were producing carved, painted and gilded pieces adorned with such images as cupids, scrolls and acanthus (leaves of acanthus, a plant of the Mediterranean area). Chairs were enriched with fine velvets and table tops enhanced with marble and pietra dura, a mosaic-like inlay of colored stone. Chairs and stools had scrolled arms and legs; and cabinets and cupboards were filled with carved decorations and pietra dura inlays. When the Baroque period ended, Rococo furniture---with its use of natural shapes, like shells, and its "C" and "S" shapes---was considered a reaction against it

Neoclassicism

• The neoclassical period of Italian furniture, sometimes named Louis XVI, ended the Rococo era. Furniture artisans and craftsmen studied classical art for ideas. Gradually the curving rococo lines became simpler and the furniture more rectilinear, of formed by straight lines. Chair legs became straighter and more tapered. Storage furniture, like commodes, were no longer built with bombe (outward curving legs).

19th Century

• Throughout Europe in the 19th century, the rectilinear style of neoclassicism continued but Empire furniture was also produced: simple, massive forms with large amounts of ornament ion. The ornaments were ormolu (brass or gilt) mountings in such shapes as swags, festoons and laurel branches. Egyptian ornamentation became popular for a time. Pilasters (column-like structures) were often decorated with sphinxes or palm leaves.

Reproductions

• Excellent reproductions of traditional Italian furniture are readily available. Some manufacturers combine traditional designs, decorations and craftsmanship with the techniques of modern manufacturing. Some employ skilled artisans to sculpt mounts as well as craftsman to produce hand finishes. Painted furniture--in Medieval times, displayed in the castles and homes of nobility--is produced today often using the designs and the painting techniques of the past.