Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 2 OcTOber 2018
Met Exhibit: how Chippendale became a household name

By KATHERINE ROTH who had just arrived from
NEW YORK (AP) — A small Britain themselves, some
but elegant exhibit tucked bringing Chippendale's de-
amid the American period signs with them.
rooms on the second floor Eventually, much of the
of the Metropolitan Mu- 18th century home furni-
seum of Art explores the ture in the United States
little-known story behind was thought of as "Chip-
Chippendale furniture, and pendale," the name com-
how one young man's bold ing to describe decorative
idea to create a detailed furnishings of this sort.
manifesto about chairs "Over time, Chippendale
and tables for the British came to represent Ameri-
elite transformed his name can fortitude and rever-
into an enduring style. ence for tradition," Englund
"Chippendale's Director: says. When styles later
The Designs and Legacy of changed and a preference
a Furniture Maker" reveals for a streamlined, casual
how Thomas Chippendale, lifestyle took hold, the Chip-
an 18th century artisan of This photo provided by The Metropolitan Museum of Art shows Thomas Chippendale Ribband pendale name "became a
humble origins, came up Back Chairs for Chippendale's Director. scapegoat for fussy tradi-
with a new way of design- Associated Press tionalism," she says. "I think
ing, marketing and produc- as long as Chippendale
ing furniture. The exhibit, other tea-related furnish- chair backs tending to proj- sent all over Britain and the was popular there was an
featuring furniture, draw- ings popular in Britain at the ect upward in a variety of colonies. It went viral," En- opposing crowd," Englund
ings and other objects, re- time. Still other Chippen- fashions. Designs often in- glund says. says. Designers as early as
mains on view at the Met dale works were in a Gothic cluded intricate fretwork for In America, many in the the 18th century made fun
through Jan. 27. revival or neoclassical style. shelves and chair legs, and aspiring mercantile class of Chippendale's most fa-
Chippendale's pieces were The overall look was meant decorative feet, sometimes sought to fill their homes mous decorative features,
created at the height of the to be both sophisticated featuring a hairy lion's-paw with furnishings in the latest referring to them in their
Rococo period and were and elitist, boasting adher- design. fashion. And in many cases, works — for instance, in
a British appropriation of a ence to Greek and Roman A skilled draftsman, Chip- the elaborately designed streamlined chairs with the
style imported from France, principals of design while pendale owed much of his Chippendale furniture was most minimalist of pierced
then known simply as "style featuring decorative ele- fame to his publication of not produced by his com- chair backs, a playful refer-
moderne," says Alyce En- ments so complex and up- an enormous and detailed pany in Britain but in the ence to what by then were
glund, assistant curator in holstery so expensive that book of engravings called United States, by a wave of simply thought of as "tradi-
the Met's American Wing. the pieces would be inac- "The Gentleman and Cab- immigrant furniture-makers tional" chairs.q
She organized the exhibit cessible to more humble inet-Maker's Director." A
with Femke Speelberg, as- classes. typical copy of the Director
sociate curator of drawings Common features includ- was 18.5-by-12 inches and
and prints. ed chair backs pierced in weighed over 8 pounds. Its
Other Chippendale pieces an interlaced design, often first edition featured 160 of
featured an Asian-inspired using abstract leaf motifs Chippendale's lovingly ren-
"chinoiserie" style, often in or swirling ribbons, with the dered drawings of furniture
the form of tea stands and uppermost corners of the designs, from which clients
around England and its col-
onies were invited to order.
Later editions featured still
more of his detailed draw-
ings.
The front pages of the am-
bitious work announced
that it would edify (includ-
ing "a short explanation of
the five orders of architec-
ture") and instruct, (includ-
ing "proper directions for
executing the most difficult
pieces, the mouldings be-
ing exhibited at large and
the dimensions of each de-
sign specified.")
Chippendale invited inde-
pendent furniture makers
to use his designs for their
own creations, advising
only that complex decora-
tive elements be simplified This photo provided by The Metropolitan Museum of Art shows
if they surpassed the skills of a "Chippendale" Chair with "Tapestry" pattern upholstery which
This photo provided by The Metropolitan Museum of Art shows a the furniture maker. was Designed by Robert Venturi and Denise-Scott Brown in Phil-
Side chair from the workshop of Thomas Chippendale. "Hundreds of copies of the adelphia.
Associated Press book were printed and Associated Press