Coveted by many for its grandiose qualities and emphasis on workmanship, early Italian furniture always remains popular both for furnishing the family home and collecting. Indeed, the Italian furniture tradition has a long and complicated history with roots in Greco-roman antiquity and a birth in the Renaissance. Does this Spark an idea?
Beginning of the Italian Renaissance
During the 14th century, Italy became the first European country to emerge out of the dark ages and turn to inspiration from Ancient Greece and Rome. This change first manifested itself in architecture, but soon spread to furniture. In fact, furniture shops usually operated under the supervision of designers who were often architects themselves. Meant to invoke the grandiose buildings, furniture became large and imposing. Carvers shaped straight legs with the Doric and Ionic columns of Greek temples in mind.
Materials
The Italian renaissance saw the rise of furniture meant to be sturdy and impressive but also decorative. Pieces often featured detailed inlays carved from marble, ebony, and ivory. Furniture makers created beautiful patterns from stones carefully grouped according to color. They gave up traditional woods such as oak in favor of harder, more vibrant woods like chestnut, fir and walnut. They also incorporated new elements and materials such as iron, metal and leather and used contrasting woods in the same object to create a stunning visual effect.
Typical Renaissance Pieces
The cassone, or decorated chest, exemplifies Italian renaissance furniture. Indeed, it was the first type of piece to take on an architectural influence and was sometimes fashioned in the style of roman sarcophagi. Other popular styles included portable folding chairs that had seats made of leather and chairs that stood on solid panels instead of legs.
Baroque Italian Furniture
Furniture during the later baroque period (1600s) looked even heavier than that of the Italian renaissance. At this time, the Catholic Church was trying to use furniture and architecture as an inspirational weapon against the encroaching threat of Protestantism. Baroque carvers fashioned furniture pieces in symmetrical shapes, emphasized contrast of light and dark, and included a lot of ornaments such as C-scrolls, S-scrolls and human figures. All of these were meant to invoke movement but later earned the baroque period its derogatory name, which means "misshapen pearl."
Venetian
Moving into the 18th and 19th centuries, Italy had disintegrated into separate states and each of these had their own styles. Furniture makers in Venice developed one of the most famous of these styles. Venetian furniture centered around cabinets, shelves, and especially mirrors. Carvers fashioned local woods such as walnut or olive into pieces with simple legs and very ornate uppers. They often painted the furniture pieces, and black with pearl or silver handles was a common theme.
Tags: Italian renaissance, baroque period, chairs that, Furniture makers, furniture pieces, Italian furniture
