Neoclassical

By Donna Sapolin

In the second half of the 18^th century, attention to the ruins of Andrea Palladio structures in Rome and Athens along with architectural discoveries at Herculaneum and Pompeii prompted a Greco-Roman style revival in the furniture of France and England. The style contrasted with and reacted against the design flourishes of the Roccoco style. Illustrations of the fresh archeological finds and detailed reports of travel expeditions broadened the public’s historical perspective and stimulated a passion for the arts of the ancient past, which were thought to capture a more superior and ideal version of nature.

Photograph above courtesy of Designer Elizabeth Spengler.

VIEW EXAMPLES OF NEOCLASSICAL PRODUCTS ON DECORATI

Neoclassical Style Products on Decorati
Jardinere by The Rothschild Collection	Console by John Hall Designs	Chandelier from Illiad Antik	Wall Covering from Adelphi Paper Hangings

The Neo-Classical style incorporates such architectural elements as Palladian columns, capitals, pilasters, pediments and friezes. Stonework, ironwork and marble were common. Popular motifs included shields, urns and Roman gods and goddesses. Furniture embraced bold, straight (rectilinear) lines as pure, geometric shape and form replaced the sinuous curves of the Roccoco period.

Photograph above courtesy of Decorati Partner The Rothschild Collection.

Toward the turn of the nineteenth century, the designs also began to reflect Egyptian characteristics as a result of the Napoleonic campaigns into Egypt in 1798, which marked the division between the Early and Late Neoclassic periods. Vitruvian scrolls, guilloche 

 patterns, festoons, and garlands began being incorporated into marquetry work, and ormolu mounts. Medallions, lyre forms, rosettes and cornucopias also made an appearance.