Peachy at The Met: Five Centuries of Interior Design Explored in New Installation at Metropolitan Museum Our Coverage Sponsored by Maine Woolens
Attributed to Gilles-Marie Oppenord (French, Paris 1672–1742 Paris)
Sheet with Architectural Motifs
Pen and black and dark brown ink, brush and dark brown and gray wash, over traces of graphite underdrawing
11 7/8 x 7 3/4 in. (30.1 x 19.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pearce Casey Fund, 1981
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We have been highly recommended by Whom You Know:
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Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier (French, Rouen 1738–1826 Paris)
Design for a Torchère
Ca. 1770-1790
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash. Framing lines in pen and brown ink with brush and green wash
18 1/2 x 12 3/16 in. (47 x 31 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1986
Exhibition Dates: June 18–September 8, 2013
Exhibition Location: Galleries for Drawings, Prints, and Photographs, 2nd floor
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Whom You Know covers a lot in the realm of style, and we believe style goes far beyond your outfit, though of course it includes that. Style is in your word choice when you speak, when you write, and it's in the way you walk. Style is the way you order at a restaurant-you may remember Sally from when Harry met her. Do not ever forget about home style which in our language is Chez Peachy: that is what we are looking at today with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, best museum ever.
The Renaissance Courts of Western Europe (nobles had court artists then) laid the foundation for Interior Design and this glorious exhibit celebrates the last five centuries of this discipline. Your imagination will go wild when you see the intricate, well-preserved drawings on the wall that come to life in some of the pieces that are part of the exhibit. Mover and Shaker Geoffrey Bradfield, we think this one is right up your alley. It would be an understatement to say that the drawings are beautiful and so intricate.
16th Century Italy we found particularly impressive. The level of detail and geometry employed (we hope Andy our favorite Geometry teacher is reading!) in this exhibit are truly extraordinary and in a class by themselves. The design for a canopy bed will bring you back to memories of the Princess of the Pea (and you know who that is here!), as well as a design for a royal bedroom and a wall elevation with a chimney piece...all elements probably unneeded in your Manhattan apartment, which would be the best part of actually having them if you could. J.P. Morgan's French Console table was particularly beautiful-French 18th Century. We also had great appreciation for the British 19th century embroidered chair back and seat needlepoint in pristine condition: clearly a lot of work.
Beauty, inspiration and detail. These should appeal to you, and so will this exhibit, highly recommended by Whom You Know! Don't miss it at The Met.
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The process of interior design—from furniture to entire rooms—is the subject of Living in Style: Five Centuries of Interior Design from the Collection of Drawings and Prints . The exhibition features works on paper of designs for domestic interiors, as well as furniture, all from the collections of The Metropolitan Museum Art, and illustrates the development and changes of interior design from the Renaissance to the 1960s. The works on paper, many of which have never before been on view, show the full circle of the creative design process, from the moment of inspiration through the design phase and execution.
The approximately 110 drawings, prints, books, and furniture pieces are presented chronologically, following the development of designs and style, and cover a range of interiors from royal residences to more modest dwellings. Many of the works represent original ideas and designs meant for execution, while others were made for study purposes or as documentation for a workshop portfolio or publication. As a group they convey the enduring fascination with the shaping and reinventing of an everyday living environment.
Living in Style spans five centuries of interior design beginning with the 16th–century Renaissance courts of Western Europe, where monarchs and other prominent nobles began to employ official court artists, who worked in exclusive service to their patrons. Interiors became more theatrical and whimsical during the Baroque and Rococo eras until the 18th century, when a fundamental change was introduced with the stern design of Neoclassicism. Later, 19th-century designers and artists revisited Egyptian and Near Eastern, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and even Rococo styles, in search of inspiration.
During the last quarter of the 19th century, after a century’s worth of looking back at prior styles, designers returned to nature for inspiration. This focus on flora and fauna led to the emergence of Art Nouveau, with its fluid lines and organic, figurative vocabulary. Simultaneously, a resistance to the effects of industrialization and mass production inspired the Arts and Crafts Movement, which advocated a preindustrial work ethic and sought to create honest works through fine craftsmanship. In the early 20th century, design progressed in two very different directions, with Art Deco and Modernism. The first yielded exquisite designs in luxurious materials while the latter called for reduction and abstraction. The exhibition ends with World War II, when industrial innovations had an important impact on design. New materials, such as molded plastics, were introduced and design became available to a larger group of clients with a different set of needs. No longer designed for individual patrons or specific interiors, furniture designs required the combination of functionalism and a strong yet accessible appeal.
The exhibition is organized by Femke Speelberg, Assistant Curator in the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints.
The exhibition and its accompanying programs are featured on the Museum’s website at www.metmuseum.org.
Robert Adam (British, Kirclady, Scotland 1728–1792 London)
Design for a Chimney Piece in the Gallery, now Dining Room, Harewood House, Yorkshire (Elevation)
Ca. 1769
Ink wash over pen and black ink and graphite
Sheet: 10 7/16 x 13 15/16 in. (26.5 x 35.4 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1934
