Lot 190 Dα

Georges Jacob (1739 - 1814) was probably the most famous and prolific Menuisier of the 18th century. The most extraordinary, the most elegant and the most magnificent French seating furniture are attributed to him. He succeeded in doing what other producers could not: reorganizing his range after the Revolution to create an entirely new repertoire that appealed to the tastes of bourgeois France. He was helped in this by his friendship with the politically active painter Jacques-Louis David, whose famous painting "La Mort de Marat" became one of the incunabula of the new revolutionary state.
The extraordinary pair of seats presented here dates back to the pre-revolutionary era during the reign of King Louis XVI. The skilled cabinetmaker and carpenter Georges Jacob had received orders from the Garde meuble royal, the royal furniture depot, since 1773. He had come to Paris 18 years earlier from his native town of Cheny in Burgundy, where he passed the master craftsman's examination on 4 September 1765, and was granted the right to use a stamp. He continued to focus on his speciality as a menuisier, or frame maker, that is, in the craft of carving. Alongside seating furniture, he also produced beds, screens, consoles, and chandelier bases. All of his works are characterised by their fine proportions and detailed carving. He was one of the first French craftsmen to be inspired by English models. He developed a unique style of naturalistic, sculptural ornamentation, always carried out with his typical attention to detail. Marie Antoinette loved his creations, and he made numerous objects for her private rooms at Versailles, as well as for the Trianon and the chateau at Saint-Cloud. These two canapés are very similar to the pieces made for Saint-Cloud, but they do not bear an inventory stamp, indicating that they were probably made at the same time for another client.