Musée des Arts Décoratifs (and musée d'Orsay)

[Planeiron]

Reading @Windows post about art Nouveau brass escutcheons reminded me of a trip to Musée des Arts Décoratifs, probably my favourite museum in Paris. It's adjacent to the Louvre. There's a section on furniture from different periods and countries and it's hugely inspiring. I had a look through photos I had taken but can't see any good shots of escutcheons but here's a taste of what's on display. Highly recommended.

 

[AndyP]

For decorative arts how about these doors in the chateau in Fontainbleu. These are double doors but it is nigh on impossible to see the join.

 

[Cabinetman]

Incredible amount of work to leave the carving on the surface like that Dave. Not my thing really but I can appreciate the craftsmanship.

 

[AndyT]

I'd love to see a wip thread if anyone is up for copying those!

 

[Mike G]

I'd love to see a wip thread if anyone is up for copying those!

3D scan then feed it into a 3D printer at 1:10 scale is about the only hope, I suggest. That's woodwork from another universe.

 

[Planeiron]

Visited musee d'Orsay during the week. Had a lovely walk around an art noveau exhibition. Luckily no one taking selfies and this part of the museum relatively quiet and peaceful (contrasting with the impressionist's exhibition where I witnessed multiple people quite literally spend the entire time viewing everything quickly through a tiny screen rather than with their eyes: anyway enough ranting).

I was yet again left amazed by the skill and craftmanship of some of the furniture. This particular room was stunning where the panelling seemed to flow off and onto the walls and melt into the furniture. The name attributed to this was Alexandre Charpentier, surely the greatest ever example of nomenative determinism. Unfortunately, I can't find any more than a few words about this chap and his work which is a shame. However, I had this room to myself for several minutes which was nice.

 

[AndyT]

That really is quite stunning. It's really hard to see which bits are from the same boards as the back and which are applied onto the board.

Would I be right in thinking that all the thin moulded parts that curve away into space are planted on?

And that in photos 4 and 5 all the top rim and all the foliage are from the solid? If so, there was some highly skilled levelling off of the background.

Is anything recorded about the methods of work, do you know?

 

[Planeiron]

I think both of your assumptions are correct.

The following text is lifted from a photo in the room and is the sum total info I have. I searched for a book on him in the museum giftshop but wasn't surprised there was nothing about him. Perhaps there's a French text hidden somewhere.

panelling

Between 1900 and 1901

Mahogany, oak, poplar, gilded bronze and enamelled stoneware

ACQUIRED AT PUBLIC AUCTION, 1977

OAP 240

Purchased in 1977 for the future Musée d'Orsay, this decoration by the cabinet maker and sculptor Alexandre Charpentier (1856-1909) is the only one to have survived. It is part of a commission from around 1900 by the banker and art lover Adrien Bénard for his villa in Champrosay, south of Paris. Charpentier showed great skill in his use of space: confined by two columns supporting a beam, he clad them in wood and created a spectacular arch.

The plant world is omnipresent: each panel is carved with a different motif – morning glory, roses, raspberry bushes, peas, beans -, the lightness of which offers a fluid response to the powerful curves of the structures. In the villa, the dining room looked out onto the garden on two sides through large windows; the interior decoration therefore echoed the planting outside.

The large planter by the ceramist Alexandre Bigot blends into the overall design with its undulating lines and light colour, which subtly matches the mahogany. Two laughing children's heads, one of Charpentier's favourite subjects, are hidden among the foliage.

 

[AndyT]

Thanks.

I'll be waiting for your next WIP after you've finished the windows!

Seriously though, it's really impressive how he got those long free-standing bits to have well proportioned mouldings that flow along fair curves through space, all matching each other and looking beautiful. And the rest of the carving!

 

[Doug]

3D scan then feed it into a 3D printer at 1:10 scale is about the only hope, I suggest. That's woodwork from another universe.

There are still folks out there who do this sort of work Mike, I guess there’s not many examples these days as it’s not in vogue, this is Mary May’s work

 

[Jonathan]

As Doug say this skill is out of vogue at the moment, hopefully it will come back.
I spent pretty much the hole of 2014 designing and building a private library and the cornice was 3d carved. I found this Russian guy to help me with the carving, his work was incredible but he struggled to make a living so his day job was shelf stacking in a supermarket.
Will try and dig out some photos.

 

[GaryR]

Thanks for this post. I vaguely remember learning about Charpentier years ago.

A current architectural sculptor working in the USA , although not in art nouveau style, is Alexander Grabovetskiy. He sometimes teaches classes at a woodworking school near me. On my list of classes to try someday.