The Anthropology of Art through the Development of Furniture in France of the 17th–18th Centuries

Abstract

The significance of this research lies in the need to develop a new approach to the study of French furniture within the broader framework of the social history of art. Such an approach is particularly relevant in light of the distinctive socio-political conditions that shaped attitudes toward the material and spatial environment in France during the age of absolute monarchy. In this context, the creation of interior settings and furnishings was closely linked to the interests of the state and, above all, to those of the sovereign, whose patronage played a decisive role in artistic production.

Against this background, the present study examines the conceptual and visual dimensions of artistic practice in French furniture-making. Particular attention is given to the functional principles underlying form, ornament, and artistic design in the masterpieces of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French furniture. A key analytical framework is the role of individual agency in history, explored through the relationship between the sovereign as patron and the craftsman as creator.

Eighteenth-century French furniture exerted a profound influence on the development of furniture design across Europe, establishing stylistic models that shaped the evolution of the decorative arts well beyond the borders of France.

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