The main representatives of the Empire style in architecture. Empire style in architecture

A change in the nature and direction of development of the art of classicism, primarily in its French version, occurred after the bourgeois revolution, after the proclamation of ancient Greek and Roman art as its ideal. But now the aesthetic ideals of antiquity of the era of enlightenment were supposed to glorify the newly born empire and personally the first emperor of France, Napoleon I, and his military prowess. This new style of classicism began to develop during the era of the Directory (1795-1799), and then under the Consulate (1799-1804), and reached its peak between 1804 (the year of the coronation of Napoleon I) and 1813, receiving the name Empire style (from French empire - empire and Latin imperium - power). Empire style remained in France until 1815 until the Bourbon restoration, but its influence on the formation, first of all, of palace ceremonial interiors will remain for almost twenty years.

Empire style, which has developed in architecture, decorative and applied arts, furniture, clothing, painting, sculpture, etc. in all countries of Western Europe and Russia, became the final stage in the evolution of classicism. The main sources of creative inspiration for the Empire style were the art of Ancient Greece during the archaic period and Ancient Rome during the late empire, as well as the art and culture of Ancient Egypt, Etruria and other ancient civilizations. The Empire style actively used the plastic ideas of ancient Egyptian architecture, making large undivided wall surfaces, massive columns and pylons, ensuring clarity and geometric correctness of the construction of solid volumes, etc. From Ancient Greece and Rome, laconicism, monumentality, strict balance of parts, and symmetry of constructed objects passed into the Empire style. Porticoes of classical orders, which were designed in contrast with the smooth surface of poorly articulated walls and geometric volumes, became widespread. The ideas of establishing imperial greatness and military glory were realized in the Empire style through the art of numerous symbols and signs. For example, in the decorative decoration of the exteriors and interiors of buildings, furniture, lamps, dishes, etc. military emblems and symbols of military glory were used in large quantities, borrowed from the arsenal of decorative means of Ancient Rome in the form of laurel wreaths, trophies, announcer bundles, eagles, torches, the repeating letter N, etc. Many motifs of ancient Egyptian ornaments and symbols were also used in the form of characteristic reliefs, sphinxes, mummies, lions, etc. Such exotic decor only enhanced the theatricality of the entire interior. Empire style in its heyday is characterized by direct borrowing of some architectural types and forms of the objective world of antiquity. For example, triumphal arches, memorial obelisks and imperial columns are built and decorated accordingly. The interiors of palaces and private houses are decorated with reliefs similar to ancient Egyptian and ancient examples. Wall paintings are made according to Pompeian motifs, dishes, decorative vases, lamps are made very similar to ancient Greek and Etruscan ones, etc.

With the advent of the Empire style, art becomes more large-scale and monumental. Instead of the exquisite subtlety of the style of Louis XVI, there comes excessive rationality, pomp and even pathos. In the desire of the victorious bourgeoisie, which rejected royal styles, to imitate the life and morals of the ancient Romans in everything, there was, of course, a lot of theatricality and ostentation. In many European countries, the aristocracy and big bourgeoisie, for whom the French classicism of the era of Louis XVI had until recently been a role model, began to openly follow the new style. After the revolution, numerous architects and artists came to Paris again from different countries and began to work in this new style. The Empire style, unlike previous styles, had a very cosmopolitan character and, due to its regulation, excluded the possibility of creating local national schools, which, however, did not prevent Russia from creating its own version of the Empire style some time later.

It should be noted that the formal language of classicism served kingdoms, bourgeoisies and empires with equal success. At its first stage, classicism was the royal style, then its more strict and laconic forms served the ideas of the bourgeois revolution. At the last stage, the same classic forms, but significantly redesigned towards greater pomp, external showiness and grandeur, are used to glorify the emperor and his empire.

Compared to the forms of architecture, which in Empire times were guided mainly by examples of ancient Roman buildings and therefore did not have significant changes, the interior, in which an unprecedented stylistic unity of all the elements that make it up is achieved, is now solved in a new way. This empire synthesis arises, first of all, from strict adherence to antique, mainly ancient Roman patterns in the design of walls, floors and ceilings, furniture, wallpaper patterns, upholstery fabrics and draperies, fabrics of curtains, bedspreads, tablecloths, and other products of decorative and applied art. . The refined and light interiors of the previous era are now becoming solemnly monumental, complete peace, orderliness and balance of elements, and strict symmetry reign in them. Empire, like other royal styles, serves primarily the purposes of representation - this is its peculiar theatricality, characteristic of palace interiors since the time of Louis XIV.

The walls of the premises, as before, are divided into separate ornamentally processed panels of rectangular shapes, which are also decorated with picturesque paintings, often applied directly to the wall or Wall panels. The walls are also decorated with pilasters and half-columns. The cornice, usually accentuated by a frieze decorated with garlands and figures of swans and sphinxes, clearly separates the white-painted ceiling, decorated at the corners, from the walls. Quite often, ceilings, in imitation of ancient Roman ones, are made coffered. The walls are covered with wallpaper or covered with fabrics, and the fabrics are draped, imitating the shapes of ancient clothes. Wallpaper has a strict pattern, but is also made with images of landscapes or various subjects on the themes of Napoleon's Egyptian campaigns. Sometimes the ceilings are painted on a white background, and the entire pictorial composition is framed by a wide border. The floors are also made very elegant from inlaid parquet of different types of wood, the pattern of which corresponds to antique ornaments. In rich houses and palaces, some rooms had floors designed to imitate ancient mosaics. The door panels are decorated with stucco with images of female figures or vases with bouquets of flowers.

During this era, it became fashionable to decorate boudoirs, state rooms, dining rooms and special rooms for sculpture collections with marble busts of house owners, etc. antiques (vases, sculptures, dishes, etc.). Very fashionable at that time were products made from unglazed porcelain (biscuits), ceramics from the Sèvres manufactories in jasper or marble, and stone mass from the Wedgwood company in the form of various plaques with white reliefs on antique themes on a blue or olive background, which were hung strictly symmetrically on the walls or with which furniture objects were decorated. The main metal used for decorating or making some interior elements was bronze. For example, various lamps were made from bronze, interpreted in color and texture according to ancient samples: chandeliers, candelabra, floor lamps. Empire candelabra are similar in every way to Pompeian ones; they have stands in the form of animal paws or sphinxes. Floor lamps are made in the form of sculptural statues with caryatids, figures of winged Victories or the Three Graces, etc.

In an empire style interior, mirrors play a very significant role. Mirrors are placed on cabinets, and bathroom ceilings are decorated with mirrors. Free-standing floor mirrors - psyche, decorated with bronze, as well as small psiche, installed on dressing tables, are becoming popular. The shape of the fireplace that appeared at this time imitates ancient Roman marble tombstones. Screens and fireplace screens are covered with tapestry and other fabrics decorated with embroidery. Similar screens of much smaller sizes were also placed in front of the candlesticks. Washstands take the form of a sacrificial altar (altar of purity) or the shape of a lyre, incense burners are made in the shape of an urn. Products made of blue glass or porcelain, painted with paints, incl. gold, and decorated with gilded or silver plated overlays.

Due to the abundance of images of animals and birds, primarily predators and fragments of their bodies, as well as other fantastic creatures in the form of griffins and sphinxes, the Empire style is considered an animal style.

For example, the legs of furniture objects, lamp supports, etc. were often interpreted as the clawed paw of a lion, turning into a mythological fantasy creature with the head and chest of a woman, the body of a lion and eagle wings. Frequent images were swans with strongly curved necks, ram's heads (bucrania), etc.

The Empire style had a special relationship to external form and, above all, to the recognition of the intrinsic value of the surface as such, be it the wall or ceiling of a room, a cabinet door, the back of a chair or armchair. These surfaces are always emphasized by contrasting patterns (often in relief), the motifs of which were borrowed from Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art. Therefore, such a large role in the Empire style was given to sculpture in the form, for example, of carved paws on the ends of the legs of chairs and armchairs, supports of armrests in the form of lyres, supporting parts of tables in the form of herms and the griffins mentioned above, etc. Such sculptural images often acted as structural elements of a particular material object.

French Empire furniture

The founder of the Empire style is considered to be the painter Louis David, and the exponents of this style are the architects Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre Fontaine (1762-1853).

The Empire style in its most refined form appeared in the interiors of country residences, which were first built for the First Consul and then the Emperor of France, Napoleon. The finishing and furnishing of all premises was carried out according to the designs of Fontaine and Percier. The widespread dissemination of the new style was facilitated by their publication in 1801 of an album with furniture and interior designs, which was reissued in 1812. These architects created interiors and furniture for Madame Recamier's palace, and Napoleon entrusted them with the decoration of his country palace in Malmaison. Later, having become court architects of the emperor, Percier and Fontaine led the work on remodeling the premises of other royal palaces in the Tuileries, Saint-Cloud Fontainebleau, Louvre, etc.

The furniture designed by these architects was made by the famous furniture makers Georges Jacob and his son Jacob-Demalter (1770-1841).

Armchair, 1870, France

Armchair, C. Perkier and P. Fontaine

Armchair. Wood, carving, gilding. Jacob's workshop

Chair made for Marshal Ney (1769-1815) from Napoleon's army. Jacob-Demalter, 1800s, Paris

Armchair with swans. Empire style

Armchair, Jacob-Demalter, 1805, Paris (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

Unlike the style of the previous era - the Louis XVI style - Empire furniture is characterized by direct borrowing of antique forms. The furniture is subordinated to architecture, it is monumental and has clear structural divisions. The most important elements of decorating Empire furniture are architectural patterns: columns, capitals, friezes, cornices. Architectural design of furniture objects, incl. seating furniture completely eliminates sagging, soft upholstery, so it always seems hard. The theatricality of the Empire style - as a palace, ceremonial art - determines the specific organization of the space of the room, where interior elements are located as if along the perimeter, turning it into a kind of theatrical platform. Therefore, horizontal shapes predominate in Empire furniture. Decorative decorations on a furniture object are usually located along the perimeter of its free surfaces, thereby emphasizing the beauty of the texture and texture of carefully polished wood. In interiors, furniture is often placed in entire sets made from the same type of wood, and their color scheme is necessarily harmonized with the color of other interior elements. Furniture continues to be made, painted white, the decorative carvings of which are gilded or tinted to resemble antique (patinated, green) bronze.

At this time, the so-called sofa rooms in which sofas are installed, and on the carpet in front of them - the so-called. pre-sofa tables on one central wide support and several trough-shaped chairs arranged around the table. As a rule, the bright upholstery of the sofa and armchairs was in harmony with the decor of the walls. The design of upholstery fabrics was usually embroidered with wool or woven with gold threads. Upholstery with scarlet cloth with black borders, silk with gold stars or rosettes on a mesh pattern was in fashion; rich colors were valued: blue, yellow, purple, crimson, and also such fashionable color combinations as white with gold or blue with gold. In the initial period of the Empire style, large sofas standing on pedestals like pylons, resting on lion paws and having blind elbows (sidewalls) were very popular. The surfaces of the backs and elbows of sofas were veneered with mahogany, and carved decorations were made in the form of musical instruments, swans, military trophies, eagles, lions, etc. The cornucopia motif was often used for the shapes of the elbows (sides) of sofas. Similar sculptural decorations were sometimes made of bronze. The supports and base of the sofa tables were also decorated with carvings or gilded bronze.

Side table with mantel clock "Cupid and Psyche", 1799, France

Gueridon table with marble top. 1803, Paris, France

Athenian pair (shells). Late Empire style designed by Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre Fontaine (1762-1853)

Dressing table with a “psyche” mirror. Workshop of M. Bienne. Wood, carving, gilding, bronze plates. OK. 1817 Paris, France

Stool. 1805, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Washbasin, C. Percier and M. Bienne, 1804-1814.

Bed. Jacob-Demalter, XIX century.

Empress Josephine's bed

Emperor's Bedchamber, Fontainebleau Palace, France

Throne Room, Fontainebleau Palace, France

The throne was intended for Napoleon I, 1805 Jacob-Demalter

Pauline Bonaparte's ceremonial bedroom. 1804 British Embassy, ​​Paris

Couches of a peculiar shape with two end backs, usually turned outward, made in the shape of the letter S, are becoming widespread. The chairs are made very similar to the ancient Roman ones. Their elbows are supported by carved figures of swans, griffins, lions, etc., or by columns with flutes and capitals, scrollwork, etc. Sometimes the front legs are herms that reach the elbows and serve as support for them. Popular are gondola chairs (troughs), which have a semicircular backrest that turns into armrests, which are often decorated with carved figures of swans. Chairs are made easier than armchairs. Their backs have a simple, slightly curved and thrown back rectangular shape or are made in the shape of a lyre.

Sometimes the forms of antique seating furniture are borrowed almost without modification. For example, the famous Greek klismos chair was repeatedly reproduced at this time without any distortion of its original shape and design. Stools or banquettes with crossing legs decorated with bronze, the shape of which came from Ancient Egypt, are very popular. Three-legged antique stools found during excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii are copied. The supporting parts of armchairs and chairs, as well as sofas and tables, are made in the form of the above-mentioned hermas, sphinxes, caryatids, Atlases, griffins, tritons, lion paws and columns. All these figures of fantastic monsters, winged women, caryatids, hermas and Atlanteans stand in motionless poses, their movements are constrained, their faces are as motionless as the folds of their clothes. The shapes of furniture containers: cabinets, chests of drawers, secretaries, bureaus, etc. are massive, rectangular, closed. Chests of drawers are sometimes made without legs and stand directly on the base, with a marble top board. Installed under large wall mirrors, these cabinets serve as console tables. Sometimes the entire front face of chests of drawers was made from one whole board, sawn along the line of the drawers, thanks to which the general pattern of wood flows was preserved. The smooth planes of the slightly dissected surfaces of the cabinets are emphasized by bronze or carved overlays in the form of garlands, wreaths, palmettes, rosettes, strips of gilded bronze with carved ornaments, as well as eagles, lion and ram heads, winged Nike, faience, porcelain or ceramic Wedgwood plaques, which are inserted into the wooden base of furniture objects. Such cabinets, decorated with columns or pilasters with gilded bronze bases and capitals, pediments, cornices, friezes, architectural profiles, etc., are made very similar to ancient temples. The favorite decoration that appears at this time on the doorposts or corners of cabinets, chests of drawers and secretaries are peculiarly shaped caryatids with unnaturally elongated mummy-like bodies, female heads and legs.

Portrait of Madame Recamier. J. David. 1800 Oil, 173 x 244 cm. Louvre, Paris

Portrait of Madame Recamier. F. Gerard. 1805 Oil, 255 x 145 cm. Carnavalet Museum, Paris

Empire style gives rise to new types of furniture. Appearing: a bookcase decorated with a trellis, a narrow slide for jewelry, a narrow sideboard, cabinets for porcelain, round serving tables for porcelain dishes, clavichords, psichet, etc. Massive cylindrical bedside tables, very similar to pedestals, are becoming widespread. They were usually installed in the bedroom symmetrically on both sides of the bed. At this time, secretaries are still among the most popular pieces of furniture for premises. Behind the folding tabletops of the secretaries are hidden numerous drawers, niches, and shelves, which are finished with expensive types of wood, mirrors, bronze, etc.

Desks are made various types, sometimes turning into bureau tables or bureau cabinets. Such tables are made, as a rule, two-pedestal with drawers. But there are also tables that stand on four legs. Various round tables are very popular in the Empire style, having one central support or legs in the form of winged chimeras or other monsters, as well as volute-shaped tables with lion masks or bucrania in their upper part.

Round tables-gueridons, jardiniere-stands for flowers and tables for washing in the form of antique altars (tripos) are in fashion. Tabletops and base boxes are often made of marble or malachite and decorated with gilded bronze inserts with typical Empire decor in the form of wreaths, flowerpots, garlands, profiles of women's heads, etc. Jardinieres often have the shape of antique bronze altars. Rectangular tables on four free-standing legs continue to be made, as well as console tables on legs in the form of herms, which are a tetrahedral pillar expanding upward, topped with the head or bust of a mythological character, caryatids, griffins or mummies, resting on special well-profiled stands - pedestals (plinths).

The so-called table of Napoleonic marshals, created according to the design of C. Percier and decorated with gilded bronze by the famous bronzer P.F. Tomir and mosaic from Sevres porcelain according to the sketch of J.-B. Izabe. Another outstanding piece of furniture art is the Napoleon Bureau.

Beds in this era are made with identical sides and with or without a canopy and are often installed on plinths. The canopy is now suspended from a frame that is attached to the ceiling. Such Empire style beds are designed in the shape of a Roman sarcophagus, but a new type of bed is also being created, the so-called. a boat-bed, designed, as they said then, to make life easier. An outstanding example of a bed from this era is the bed of the Empress Josephine. The supports of this bed are made in the form of huge cornucopias of gilded wood, the supports of the head also represent cornucopias, above which are carved figures of swans with raised wings. The bed itself resembles the camp tent of a Roman commander with a tent made of scarlet cashmere.

In later times, Empire furniture was clearly oversaturated with bronze decor; moreover, small decorative objects appeared, made entirely of gilded bronze, silver and even glass. The tradition of decorating furniture objects with bronze continued in French furniture art from Louis XIV to the Empire style for almost a century and a half.

In the Empire era, compared to the previous style, furniture makers do not use any new techniques when finishing furniture objects. Important role In the decoration of furniture, the texture and texture of the material, which were previously hidden behind a mass of carved decorations and architectural patterns, began to play a role. First of all, the perfected veneering technique is used. Plywood is usually made from dark mahogany, or sometimes black, and is carefully polished. Light wood species are also used: lemon tree, ash, maple, cherry tree, etc. The surfaces of furniture objects made of mahogany and ebony polished to a mirror shine and the surfaces of furniture objects painted white under varnish are set off with bronze gilded overlays and, less often , overlaid gilded carvings, which gives the interior solemnity, strict grace and monumentality.

Intarsia and marquetry made of various types of wood are extremely rare in this era.

Empire style furniture has a connection with Louis XVI style furniture. For example, the furniture of Jacob, who began working in the previous style, and in the Empire era was the main maker of furniture for Napoleon and other royal courts and aristocracy, is made according to the designs (drawings) of Percier and Fontaine. Jacob's collaborator was the famous bronzer P.F., already mentioned above. Tomir, who made bronze jewelry and sculpture for all the palaces that existed at that time.

By its nature, the Empire style in furniture in all European countries has uniform forms, although it differs in regional shades. However, the influence of the French Empire style on similar styles in other countries was very significant and decisive.

Austrian, German, Italian and English Empire furniture

The Austrian and German Empire style represent the same previous style of classicism, but with a greater tendency towards ancient style, the so-called. Zopf style. At this time, Vienna became one of the leading centers furniture production, and the Austrian aristocracy and big bourgeoisie, which always gravitated towards wealth and luxury, nevertheless furnished their apartments with very elegant furniture, but simple in form and not overloaded with bronze decor, characteristic of French models. The shapes of well-made chairs and armchairs have good proportions and an elegant outline. The legs are usually made smooth, and a minimal amount of bronze decoration is used. Tables at this time were made round and rectangular, close to the Louis XVI and Zopf styles, bulky sofas had high sides decorated with columns. The clavier becomes an important piece of furniture. It is known that after 1790 Vienna became one of the centers for the production of this kind of musical instruments. Good carpentry, the presence of various technical devices, and the elegance of forms place Austrian products of this era on a par with English samples.

Sofa. London, 1759-1765

Armchair for King William IV. 1834

The new imperial style had little effect on Germany, because... at that time it was fragmented into many principalities. However, some German furniture is made in the Empire style, however, this style of furniture gravitates more towards Greek classics than to imperial Rome and is very similar to the Zopf style.

The implantation of the imperial style in Italy begins with the reign of Napoleon, who subjugated most of it. At first, the residences of Napoleon's relatives in Italy and their furnishings were decided in this style. For example, Napoleon's sister Elisa Baciochi imported furniture makers and decorators from France to decorate the Pitti Palace in Florence and patronized local Italian craftsmen working in this style. The palace of Jerome Bonaparte in Portici, etc. is furnished in the Empire style. However, the Empire style, which developed in Italy from 1815 to 1840, reached its peak after the overthrow of Napoleon.

In England in the period 1812-1830. A style direction is emerging that is close to the French Empire style. This is the direction called The Regency style, and the style of George IV that came after it (1820-1830), originated in the classical interiors and furniture of the Adam brothers. The trend was picked up by Heppelwhite and Sheraton and finally took shape in the work of the subsequent generation of English masters. By the middle of the 19th century. In England, the spirit of rationality and healthy practicality is intensifying in the style and lifestyle of various social groups. This desire for simplicity manifests itself first in clothing, and then in furniture and interior design. English classical forms of furniture influenced the furniture of many European countries and even French furniture. This influence manifested itself in a general tendency towards expediency, simplicity and the desire to free furniture from the influence of architectural forms and the principles of their construction.

The influence of the Empire style was most evident in the projects of Thomas Hope, but these projects can be considered the exception rather than the rule in the development of English furniture art. But even these projects are more strict and “democratic” than the antique forms of furniture by Percier and Fontaine and the furniture samples of the Italians Giuseppe Sali and Giacomo Albertoli, which are close to them.

After the fall of Napoleon, they tried to forget everything that was connected with his name and activities in France and other European powers; This also applied to the Empire style implanted there. However, the Empire style continued to live on, for example, in the Biedermeier that came to replace it, primarily in Germany, Austria and even Russia, not to mention the so-called. neostyles. The influence of the Empire style on peasant furniture in some countries continued to be felt until late XIX V.

Russian Empire furniture. Alexandrovsky Empire style

In the art of European classicism and empire style of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. important place belongs to Russia. In Russia, the formation and development of the Empire style dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. and the reign of Alexander I (1801-1825). The victory in the Patriotic War of 1812, the restoration and development of Moscow, the construction of majestic architectural ensembles in St. Petersburg served as fertile ground for the flourishing of the Empire style in Russia, which began to differ very significantly from the European style, although the original stylistic elements of the Russian Empire style make it similar to the French.

Armchair. Mahogany, gilding. XIX century

Stool. Mahogany, gilding. XIX century

The Empire style manifested itself most clearly in architecture. At this time, great architects were working in Russia: A.N. Voronikhin, A.D. Zakharov, M.F. Kazakov, G. Quarenghi, Thomas de Thomon, K.I. Rossi, V.P. Stasov, O.I. Beauvais. Russian architecture is on the rise, it can solve complex urban planning problems and create magnificent structures. The Admiralty, the Kazan Cathedral, the General Staff building, the Mikhailovsky and Elaginsky palaces and, especially, their interiors are architectural compositions and artistic ensembles amazing in their completeness and clarity. During this period, Russian furniture art also experienced a rise. Architects, when designing interiors, also design furniture, introducing completely new features into its forms and decor, which begin to give Russian furniture a unique character. At first, Russian furniture, especially palace furniture, was not free from the influence of French and even English designs, but later Russian furniture art acquired a unique, independent character. Along with luxuriously decorated formal furniture, Russian craftsmen create more comfortable and simple furniture for landowners' estates and the wealthy strata of the urban population.

Mahogany, bronzed and gilded only inside chair, circa 1800.

Jardiniere armchair. Pavlovsk Palace. Wood, carving, gilding, bronze painting, velvet, canvas embroidery. Based on the project by A. Voronikhin. Workshop of K. Scheibe, 1806

At the very beginning of the century, the works of the St. Petersburg furniture workshop of X. Meyer were popular. It is believed that it was he who began to make mahogany furniture of simple rectilinear shapes, decorated with narrow brass strips (rods), emphasizing the vertical and horizontal divisions of the furniture object. Such furniture a little later received in Russia the name of furniture made in the Jacob style - after the famous French furniture maker. In the first quarter of the 19th century. The first role was taken by the court furniture maker G. Gumbs, a student of D. Roentgen. He himself and the furniture makers of his company produce a lot of furniture close to the work of Roentgen and Jacob Demalter, as well as furniture designed by Russian architects. In addition to G. Gambs, the workshops of V. Bobkov, A. Tour, I. Bauman, F. Grosse enjoy deserved fame in St. Petersburg, and in Moscow - A.K. Pike.

Russian Empire furniture differs from French and English. Its forms are simpler, and it looks more monumental, striking with the beauty of its proportions and the consistency of its individual parts. The main feature of Empire furniture, incl. and Russian - this is the strict subordination of its formation to the laws of classical architecture: a three-part division of the main volume into the base (base), body (main part) and the final upper part, which was emphasized by divisions in the horizontal and vertical directions usual for architecture. In each furniture object, the masses are strictly proportionally calculated, which enhances and emphasizes their static and monumental composition. The originality of the decoration of furniture of the Alexander Empire style is the concentration of individual spots of ornamentation in certain places on the relatively small smooth surfaces of furniture objects. Most Russian furniture, except for some examples of palace and ceremonial furniture, is not decorated with gilded bronze. Instead, plaster or gesso modeling is used, or wood carving is used, which is then either gilded, or painted black, or finished to look like old (patinated) green bronze.

Decorative motifs include various military emblems, laurel wreaths, garlands, eagles, stylized swans with curved necks, griffins, lions, lyres, acanthus leaves, meanders, symmetrical palmettes, etc., which are very popular in this style. The furniture is decorated with elements of architectural orders: columns with bases and capitals, friezes, cornices, and its structural divisions are emphasized by architectural drafts of low relief. In addition, herms made in the ancient Roman or Greek manner, sphinxes, chimeras, winged goddesses Nike and other fantastic figures, symmetrically arranged and frozen in motionless poses, are used.

At this time, seating furniture is receiving a wide variety in Russia. The backs of chairs and armchairs are made rectangular, solid and soft, somewhat reminiscent of examples of the previous style. The armrests of the chairs are often supported by carved figures of eagles, lions or swans. Motifs of animals and fantastic monsters are also used to decorate the legs, especially the front ones. Instead of blank soft backs, slotted openwork backs with a variety of patterns are made in large quantities. Figures of swans, military trophies and musical instruments are also used as motifs for such designs. At the same time, seating furniture is made, veneered with mahogany, Karelian or wavy birch, in which there is almost no decoration. The trough chair with a semicircular back that smoothly turns into low armrests, which are often decorated with carved figurines of swans, is very popular. This type of chair was originally developed in France as a desk chair. But gradually it was introduced into living room sets. Such chairs were very typical for the interiors of palaces, noble mansions and estates. An original reworking of the trough chair shape motif is a mahogany or poplar wood chair, which has no analogues in Western European furniture making. Central part its backs are decorated with figures of two griffins with a vase between them. The griffins are painted black, and the vase and some other carved elements are gilded. The upper transverse bar of the backrest smoothly flows with an elegant line into the curved bars of the elbows. The front legs are straight, chiseled, tapering downwards. The hind legs are bent. Sofas are beginning to play a major role in the furnishing of Russian houses. The so-called appears in noble houses. sofa room. At the beginning of the 19th century. the sofas have characteristic rectangular shapes, their shapes are impressive and monumental. Instead of elbows, they have high sides with carved columns. Such sofas stand on wide rectangular supports or on legs decorated in the shape of lion paws. Sofas are made in the shape of a boat or a wide chair, and carved elbows have the shape of swans, lions or sphinxes. The smooth surfaces of the backs and elbows were covered with high quality plywood made from mahogany or Karelian birch. An empire sofa, a mandatory pre-divan round, oval or rectangular table on one wide vase-shaped stand (or in the form of a cabinet) and several chairs or armchairs placed around it, a large mirror or a picture above the sofa in a rich frame made of mahogany or Karelian birch were indispensable attributes of the furniture. Russian housing of that time. The decoration of the front rooms of a rich house was also the so-called. keyboard harp, or clavicerium, in the form of a large cabinet, because this musical instrument (essentially a piano) had vertical strings. The body of this instrument was made of walnut or mahogany and mounted on griffin-shaped legs. Gradually, such instruments began to be replaced by the piano. Bookcases, chests of drawers, cabinets, wardrobes, secretaries, bookcases, etc., manufactured at that time. furniture containers were decorated with columns and pilasters with capitals, friezes and cornices and had clear divisions and proportional consistency of their main formative elements. Such furniture, as well as seating furniture, was placed in the room as symmetrically as possible, forming strict compositions and consistent with the decorative pattern and divisions of the walls.

There were still very few beautifully decorated beds made in Russia in the Empire style. For some reason, little attention was paid to them, in comparison with the French tradition, being content with old models.

Tens of the 19th century. characteristic of Russian craftsmen by expanding the range of furniture materials used. In addition to mahogany, Karelian birch and ash, already known by that time, poplar, wavy maple and birch, stained pear and other species began to be widely used. Furniture, which was made from local species and was therefore inexpensive, was often painted white and the carvings were gilded, dark-painted or inked. At this time, according to the drawings of architects, table parts began to be made from crystal or colored glass. Cutting factories in Peterhof, Yekaterinburg and Kolyvan began to make countertops from marble, malachite and jasper. The St. Petersburg Porcelain Factory began producing various plaques and medallions from porcelain and earthenware, decorated with motifs on antique themes, which were cut into the wooden planes of ceremonial Empire furniture.

One of the excellent masters of Russian classicism and empire style was the architect A.N. Voronikhin (1759-1814), who designed the Kazan Cathedral and the Mining Institute. He works a lot on the interiors of the buildings he creates and reconstructs, designing, among other things, furniture, lamps, upholstery and drapery fabrics, decorative crystal vases, etc. After the fire that occurred in the Pavlovsk Palace in 1803, he was entrusted with the restoration of its state apartments, and, somewhat later, the interiors and furnishings of the palace’s living quarters. In his furniture A.N. Voronikhin did not use bronze decorations, replacing them with wood carvings, which were then gilded or covered with black-green paint imitating old bronze. The quality of the carvings of Russian carvers was impeccable - their skill was based on the centuries-old traditions of folk carving. In furniture objects made according to drawings by A.N. Voronikhin, a certain trend in the formation of Russian furniture in the first third of the 19th century is already visible, which goes along two very independent directions. According to one, the furniture is made ceremonial, according to the other - household, chamber furniture. For example, the master created a typical ceremonial setting for the halls of Peace and War and the Greek Hall in the Pavlovsk Palace. The gilded armchairs and sofas for the Greek Hall are beautifully made with openwork backs decorated with griffins and carved front legs in the form of eagles, the wings of which are connected to the backs and serve as elbow rests. In the halls of Peace and War, the seating furniture is curule chairs, the supports of which are made in the form of bunches of stems intertwined with gilded cords, standing on lion paws. The furniture he created for informal spaces looks great, characterized by light proportions and light tones of the material used and its finishing. Here Voronikhin uses, just as for the furniture of the Pink Pavilion, wavy birch with its magnificent golden hue and beauty of texture, which here are slightly emphasized by small inserts of blackened wood. The furniture upholstery is chosen by the architect himself, and its design is designed by him in advance in full agreement with the composition of the furniture object and the decor of the walls. For example, he created numerous sketches for cross-stitching with wool on furniture fabrics.

The ornamentation of Voronikhin furniture is carried out in line with the antique theme of the Empire style accepted at that time. The same rosettes, wreaths, palmettes, geometrized floral ornaments, trophies, caryatids, allegorical figures, eagles, swans, griffins, etc., but their interpretation is striking in its diversity, richness of invention and special elegance of execution.

A special place in furniture art belongs to the architect K.I. Rossi (1775-1849), who since 1816 has been designing furniture for the buildings he erects. Furniture based on his drawings was ordered from such famous masters as V. Bobkov, G. Gumbs, A. Tur, I. Bauman. The interiors he created in the Anichkov Palace being rebuilt, in the Elagin and Mikhailovsky palaces under construction, the General Staff building, the library of the palace in Pavlovsk, etc. furnished with designer furniture. K. Rossi created furniture for the ceremonial premises for the most part gilded or painted white with gilded carvings. He also designed sets made of mahogany, Karelian birch, gray maple, walnut, poplar, sometimes allowing for gilded bronze overlays. His furniture has a lot of carved decor, where the motifs used are mainly antique floral ornaments of wreaths, palmettes, acanthus leaves, as well as cornucopia and lyre motifs. He almost never uses eagle paws and heads, lion masks, bird wings, etc. The favorite colors and color combinations of the upholstery, which he also designed, are white with yellow or orange, white with blue or light blue. Sometimes he also uses pale green and pale lilac tones. There is a known large set made by C. Rossi in 1817 for the living room of the Anichkov Palace. All the furniture here is painted white, and the low relief carvings are gilded. The central object of the living room is a boat-shaped sofa, decorated with applied flat carvings in the form of palmettes, lyres, butterflies, ivy branches, and rosettes. The chairs and armchairs are TV-shaped, slightly rounded in terms of the back, the central slats of which resemble a lyre decorated with butterflies. The original upholstery of this set was blue velvet; but later (when the set entered one of the state drawing rooms of the Winter Palace in the 80s of the 19th century) it was replaced with light green upholstery. There are two more sets of similar shape and decoration, designed by K. Rossi, created for the Winter Palace and the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow in 1817. K. Rossi did not make similar repetitions in subsequent years. Furniture, chandeliers and draperies, paintings, sculptures, decorative vases, etc. designed by him. were created based on the specifics of a particular interior, for a strictly defined room and a specific place. This approach, as the most typical, was carried out during the construction of the Elagin and Mikhailovsky palaces. The intimacy of the Elagin Palace is determined by the size and scale of its premises, each of which was conceived by the architect as an independent interior complex, where all elements are subordinated to a single compositional plan. The furniture sets of this palace are an example of the excellent use of wavy maple and bronze overlays - very rare decorations for Russian furniture, setting off the smooth polished surfaces of this wood. The typefaces were created according to the drawings of C. Rossi in 1819-1822. in the St. Petersburg workshops of I. Bauman, who began his activities at the end of the 18th century. Headsets were also made there, painted white with gilded carvings. The furniture set of the Elagin Palace made of wavy maple includes, in addition to a sofa, chairs, armchairs and a pre-sofa table, a couch with a small footstool standing on animal paws, low cabinets that were often used for books, with a flat tabletop at the top where they were placed candlesticks, decorative vases, flower pots, clocks, etc., and a ladies' bureau standing on turned, tapering legs. The upper part of the bureau has a container with a row of drawers and an upper shelf standing on columns. Mirrors are installed between the container and the shelf.

The Mikhailovsky Palace, now the State Russian Museum, the construction of which was completed by C. Rossi in 1825, amazes with the splendor of its spacious halls, decorated with stucco and paintings, the festiveness of which is complemented by ceremonial white and gold furniture, which even today partially stands in the places assigned to it by the architects. Here the central White Column Hall has been preserved almost unchanged. The furniture for this hall, based on the drawings of K. Rossi, was made by master V. Bobkov, who had previously made carved door leaves and furniture in the Elagin Palace. The white walls of the hall have a warm tint and are decorated in the upper part with a stucco gilded frieze, above which there is a picturesque ceiling lamp. The volume of the hall is divided into three parts by columns. The column trunks are painted in the color of the walls and have gilded capitals. The furniture of the hall is carefully thought out and consists of many carved gilded chairs and armchairs, sofas, oval and round tables, as well as console tables with blue glass countertops, which support huge mirrors in the walls between the windows. Sofas standing against the walls, tables in front of them and chairs placed around them form strictly thought-out symmetrical compositions. Two double-sided sofas of an original shape stand between the columns, as if separating and organizing an independent space for each third of the room’s volume for the society gathered there. In the decor of this room, where the master achieved a harmonious combination of white with blue and gold, furniture plays one of the leading figurative, semantic and formal compositional roles. It may seem overly ponderous and magnificent, but, undoubtedly, it expresses the solemn and pompous image of this palace. In other rooms of the palace there was furniture made of Karelian birch, mahogany and walnut with gilded carvings. This furniture went well with paper and woven wallpaper in blue, orange and purple with gold patterns.

Another remarkable master of that time, architect V.P., also influenced the development of Russian furniture. Stasov (1769-1848), author of a number of interiors and furniture of the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace at the beginning of 1825. He created one of the masterpieces - the so-called. maple bedchamber of Maria Feodorovna and other rooms for Alexander I. Furniture for the palace, designed by Stasov, was manufactured by the workshops of G. Gambs and A. Tour. Compared to Rossi's Empire furniture, his furniture has a more austere appearance and is not overloaded with carved ornaments. It is believed that it was Stasov who introduced into circulation a new and very rational design of a chair and armchair with the so-called. side frame and inset seat. This type of chair or armchair design lasted in Russian furniture for a very long time. The design of such a chair consists of two flat side frames, each of which forms the front leg, the side wall of the seat box and the rear leg, which turns into the backrest. At the height of the seat, the frames are pulled together by two transverse bars. The backrest posts are connected by a transverse board, usually decorated with low relief carvings. The inset seat is installed between the side walls of the chair frames on cross bars. This seat is made in a trapezoidal shape. Rational design, ease of assembly, high strength Its rigidity and comfort ensured that this type of chair or armchair became widespread. Similar seating areas were included in the furnishings of both noble and merchant houses. Noble estates, in imitation of the imperial court, were also furnished in the Empire style. Such formal rooms as living rooms, offices, and sofa rooms were furnished mainly with elongated oval or octagonal tables standing in front of the sofas on the carpet, and a row of chairs or armchairs. In the living rooms there were also cabinets with decorative porcelain and crystal. In the offices, these furniture objects were supplemented with: a desk or bureau, a bookcase, a secretary or a desk. In the front rooms, traditional rectangular wardrobes and chests of drawers with three or four drawers were not installed. Such furniture was usually made by the hands of serf craftsmen. The materials for its manufacture were birch, linden, and ash. Sometimes the furniture was veneered, but more often it was tinted, for example, birch to look like mahogany, and polished. In its forms and decor, it resembled examples of metropolitan furniture, but did not possess the strictness of proportions, rigidity of drawing of individual details, pomp and pomp characteristic of the latter.

One of the best furniture makers of the Alexander and previous periods is rightfully considered Heinrich Gumbs (1765-1831) and his company, which after his death was headed by his sons and successors Peter Gumbs (1802-1871) and Ernst Gumbs (1805?- 1849). His name was associated among his contemporaries with the highest achievements of furniture art. One of his unique pieces convinces us of this - a large mahogany bureau decorated with gilded bronze. The master worked on this piece of furniture for about twenty years, from 1795 to 1815. The bureau resembles an architectural structure with a plinth, fluted columns, a cylindrical lid, a protruding middle upper part, and a balustrade. The bureau is richly decorated with gilded bronze. Particularly noteworthy is the central rectangular plaque with a relief composition of Apollo and the Muses (based on a painting by the 17th century Italian artist Guido Reni), as well as medallions with antique heads, figures of muses, images of eagles, dolphins, and mascarons. In the center on the upper ledge of the bureau there is a bronze sculptural group of three mythological characters: Minerva, Clio and Victoria. This bureau is not only an excellent example of furniture art, but also a complex technical structure equipped with secret mechanisms. For example, when you turn the key, the music stand comes out, the tabletop unfolds, and the drawers for writing instruments pull out. When you click on one of the parts in the bronze medallion, a shelf for secret items appears. Then, at the bottom of the plinth, a stand is pulled out, on which stands a folding chair with armrests, upholstered in green velvet. All these technical manipulations are accompanied by Mozart’s music, which is played by a mechanical organ hidden inside the bureau’s body. The entire stylistic form of the bureau, its architectural structure, straight divisions, columns, figures in antique clothes, etc. indicate that most of the work on it was done by Gumbs at the end of the 18th century. in imitation of the works of his teacher D. Roentgen. It is assumed that he created this piece of furniture for Catherine I. According to the master, he began work on it only to publicly confirm his talent as a mechanic and cabinetmaker. Along with such unique works as this bureau, the Gambs company produced a large quantity of simpler and inexpensive furniture for poor city houses and country estates: cabinets, bureaus, secretaries, chests of drawers, cabinets, various seating furniture, tables, consoles, cabinets, cases for hours, etc. All examples of such furniture reveal the natural beauty of wood, which is emphasized by the typical Gambs gilded or patinated bronze overlays and incised brass ornaments. To produce high-quality bronze structural elements and furniture decorations, Gumbs had his own foundry.

Summarizing what has been said, in Russian Empire style furniture we can distinguish three very sharply different varieties:

1. furniture that was made for the imperial court and large representatives of the ruling class. Such furniture in its shape and decor was reminiscent of French Empire designs and was made from solid mahogany or Karelian birch and decorated with massive bronze overlays. Furniture was produced by large metropolitan workshops, for example, G. Gambs, A. Tour, etc.;
2. furniture that came from the workshops of landowners' estates is more modest in material and decorative ornaments. Instead of bronze overlays, flat wood carving is made here, which is sometimes replaced by gesso stucco. Such carvings or stucco moldings imitating carvings are usually painted black, like old bronze, or gilded;
3. furniture that became widespread in Russia in the period 30-40. XIX century The style of such Empire furniture, as if remade in the direction of its greater convenience and full compliance with certain life processes, already corresponds to the Biedermeier style, which became widespread, as opposed to the European Empire style, in Germany, Austria and England after the fall of Napoleon. But the Russian Biedermeier is stricter and closer to the Empire style. In addition, this mahogany furniture has preserved many purely folk features, which was the reason for its long existence and wide distribution in Russia throughout the 19th century.

The Empire era in Russia was very short-lived. However, this style managed to absorb the entire image of the era, all the diversity of skill levels and techniques of artists and architects of that time. The rise in architecture and Russian art in general was caused by the universality, integrity and orderliness of the new artistic system, its internal logic and completeness. It was on these qualities that the Empire style relied. The ordered Empire system, based on the universal principles of ancient art, where the architecturally organized external and internal space of buildings and structures existed in harmony with the environment, easily accommodated many trends, trends and styles. This unity opposed the inexorably advancing eclecticism. The Alexander Empire style, starting from 1830, especially in capital cities, was replaced by new stylistic trends, but continued to live in the provinces and in the estate architecture of Russia until the very middle of the 19th century. The surviving monuments of the Russian Empire style, with their grace, completeness and consistency of their elements, grandeur and solemnity, remind us of the golden age of Russian artistic culture.

Textbook materials used. benefits: Grashin A.A. A short course in the stylistic evolution of furniture - Moscow: Architecture-S, 2007

The essence of this style is expressed in its very name: Empire - from the French "empire", empire. The customer sought to surround himself with the splendor and pomp that once surrounded the Roman emperors. The customer of this interior has been living the life of a sybarite for many years. Much has passed over the years fashionable interiors, but due to his mentality and lifestyle, he has long gravitated towards Majestic and calm interiors, where everything speaks for the owner of the apartment about his status

The development of apartment spaces is in the nature of direct adherence to the canons of style. The surfaces of walls, ceilings, niches, floors and pieces of cabinet furniture again begin to be treated with columns, pilasters, and cornices. Decorative motifs appear in the design of the walls and ceilings: caryatids, antique elements, paintings.

In Empire style interiors, peace, orderliness, complete balance of parts and strict symmetry reign. The floors are covered with parquet made from colored wood. The ceilings are painted white and either decorated in the corners with simple decor or painted. The walls are sometimes covered with fabrics draped in the manner of antique clothing, or covered with wallpaper with a strict pattern. Light tones and spots of gilded bronze, sparingly introduced into the color of the interiors, somewhat soften the severity of the lines and the severity of the white color.

We probably shouldn’t talk much about the complexity of the project and let the viewer look at photographs of the interiors.

Styles in architecture / Empire style / Empire style in architecture and interior

Empire style is a style of architecture and interior design that is a unique reflection of Roman classics combined with Egyptian motifs. Translated from Latin, “imperium” means command, power, and translated from French, empire “empire” means empire.

Empire style appeared at the beginning of the 19th century in France thanks to the painter J.-L. David. For his paintings, in which he praised the great emperor and his empire, he made special custom-made furniture, which was very much to the liking of Napoleon and his retinue.

The heyday of the empire style was observed in France after the bourgeois revolution. Inspired by the ideas of David, architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine designed the palaces and estates of Napoleon I (Malmaison, Fontainebleau, Versailles, Louvre and Tuileries) in this style. With this pretentious, luxurious style, Napoleon tried to show not only the greatness of the Roman Empire, but also thus draw a parallel with his rule in the French possessions.

After the Patriotic War of 1812, the Empire style appeared in Russia. He was associated with the wealth and chic of the noble class, since he demanded the most expensive and beautiful materials. Thus, furniture was usually made to order from mahogany or walnut. Later in Russia they began to use Karelian birch. This was due to the ban on the import of mahogany into the country. Parquet made from Karelian birch was highly valued because, thanks to the varied colors of the wood, artists could create unusually beautiful patterned compositions on the floors.

Ampere style furniture was distinguished by functionality, comfort and elegance. Folding furniture was often used. The dining table, designed for four, in a minute turned into a huge dining table for entertaining guests. The designs of the stools were so intricate that they could be made into an easel. Chairs and sofas followed the shape of the human body, striking in their comfort and sophistication. The convexity of the back smoothly turned into a leg. The legs were often made in the shape of the paws of animals or birds. When designing and creating the furnishings of rich houses, palaces and estates, architects sought to achieve unity of style. The pattern of furniture upholstery, walls, interior elements, parquet flooring and ceiling decoration - everything was combined and harmonized with each other. Once in Russia, this style became more similar to Roman classicism than to the “Napoleonic” Empire style.

The French Empire style was somewhat different from classicism. This was especially noticeable in the color scheme. Classicism is dominated by complex harmonious combinations of colors, while Empire style is dominated by the bright colors of the Napoleonic flag: red, blue and white. Getting into different countries and cities, this style was transformed, adapted to local rules and mores. The Empire style, which has reached our time, has also changed a lot, rather even simplified, receiving a different name - Biedermeier (it is called Empire style in the spirit of intimacy and home comfort). The colors have become more harmonious, the grandeur that the golden interior elements gave has faded into the background. In our time, they have been replaced by bronze parts and overlays made to look like gold. The shapes and types of wood used have not changed. Columns, musical instruments (for example, harps), and climbing plants still serve as furniture and interior elements.

Styles in architecture / Empire / Empire

Name comes from the French empire - imperial. A style that arose in France at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. It is the organic completion of the long development of European classicism. The main feature of this style is the combination of massive simple geometric shapes with military emblems. Its source is Roman sculpture, from which A. inherited the solemn severity and clarity of the composition.

A. originally developed in France at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. during the era of the Great French Revolution and was distinguished by a pronounced civic pathos. During the Napoleonic Empire, art was supposed to glorify the military successes and virtues of the ruler. This is where the passion for building various kinds of triumphal arches, memorial columns, and obelisks comes from. Important elements Porticoes become decorative decoration of buildings. Bronze casting, painting of lampshades and alcoves are often used in interior decoration.

A. sought to get closer to antiquity more than classicism. In the 18th century The architect B. Vignon built the La Madeleine church on the model of the Roman peripterus, using the Corinthian order. The interpretation of forms was characterized by dryness and emphasized rationalism. The same features characterize the Arc de Triomphe (Arch of the Star) on Place des Stars in Paris (architect Chalgrin). The Vendôme Memorial Column (Column of the Grande Armée), erected by Leper and Gondoin, is covered with sheets of bronze cast from Austrian guns. The spiraling bas-relief depicts the events of the victorious war.

A.'s style did not develop for long; it was replaced by the time of eclecticism.

Eclecticism

Combination of elements of different styles. Eclecticism has firmly taken its place in modern life. Eclecticism combines details drawn from various sources, benefiting and emphasizing them at the expense of each other. The secret of eclecticism is to limit yourself to two or three styles and combine them through texture, color, etc.

Eclecticism (from the Greek ekiektikos - able to choose, chooser) - a combination of heterogeneous artistic elements; usually takes place during periods of decline in art. Elements of eclecticism are noticeable, for example, in late ancient Roman art, which combined forms borrowed from the art of Greece, Egypt, Western Asia, etc. Representatives of the Bolognese school gravitated towards eclecticism, who believed that they could achieve perfection by combining the best, in their opinion, aspects of the creativity of the great masters of the Renaissance.

In the history of art, the most prominent place is occupied by the eclecticism of architecture in the mid-2nd half of the 19th century, which extremely widely and often uncritically used the forms of various historical styles (Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, etc.); It is characteristic, however, that this architectural and design eclecticism with its “freedom of choice” of architectural and ornamental motifs had a significant influence on the formation of the “modern” style, holistic in its essence, but fed from a wide variety of sources.

In the field of fine art, eclecticism is most typical of salon art. Eclectic trends became widespread in Western European and American culture from the mid-20th century. in connection with the emergence of postmodernism and the fashion for “retrospectivism” decoration, copying certain stylistic directions past (including eclecticism of the 19th century).

In Moscow architecture of the second half of the 19th century. along with the “Russian-Byzantine style” in the largest state and church buildings and the “Russian style” in public buildings designed to express the revival of national culture, in many buildings (including a completely new type, such as stations, banks, shopping, office buildings, large apartment buildings) elements of “European”, so-called “historical” styles (neo-Renaissance, neo-Baroque, neo-Rococo, neo-Gothic) were used. Despite the “multi-style”, eclecticism gravitated towards the creation of large urban ensembles in “Russian” or “European” styles (Red and Lubyanka squares, the development of Kitay-Gorod). The modern appearance of the historical part of Moscow is largely shaped by eclecticism, the basic principles of which correspond to the requirements of the enlarged scale of development. The “facade” architecture of eclecticism, despite some fragmentation and monotonous repetition of details, gave the front surface of buildings greater relief and picturesqueness; it actively used rustication, forms of order decoration, richly decorated platbands, finely detailed decorative stucco, stucco sculpture, reliefs and statues, including figures of Atlanteans and caryatids; the appearance of bay windows introduced strong plastic accents into the structure of the decor. Much attention was paid to the urban planning role of large buildings, the expressiveness of their silhouette, which ended with spectacular, visible from afar domes or pointed roofs with ridges. A characteristic feature of the development of Moscow in the 1870s-90s. was the appearance of monumental, representative, often overloaded with decor, sometimes bizarre and pretentious buildings in their forms, which nevertheless “entered” quite organically into the structure of the city ( National Bank on Neglinnaya Street, architect K.M. Bykovsky, 1893--95; International Trade Bank on Kuznetsky Most, architect S.S. Eibushitz, 1898; Sandunovskie Baths, architect B.V. Freudenberg, 1894--95). Public buildings and eclectic mansions are characterized by interior decoration in various “historical styles” (classical, neo-Gothic, “Moorish”, etc.).

Constructivism

Direction in Russian (USSR) art of the 1920s. (in architecture, decoration, and theatrical and decorative art, posters, book art, artistic construction, design). Proponents of constructivism, having put forward the task of “designing” an environment that actively guides life processes, sought to comprehend the formative capabilities of new technology, its logical, expedient designs, as well as the aesthetic capabilities of materials such as metal, glass, and wood. Constructivists sought to contrast ostentatious luxury with the simplicity and emphasized utilitarianism of new object forms, in which they saw the reification of democracy and new relationships between people. In architecture, the principles of constructivism were formulated in the theoretical speeches of A. A. Vesnin and M. Ya. Ginzburg. Vesnin's project of the Palace of Labor for Moscow (1923) with its clear, rational plan and the structural basis of the building (reinforced concrete frame) revealed in the external appearance. In 1924, a creative organization of constructivists—OSA—was created, whose representatives developed the so-called functional method design, based on scientific analysis of the functioning features of buildings, structures, urban planning complexes.

Along with other groups of Soviet architects, the constructivists (the Vesnin brothers, Ginzburg, I. A. Golosov, I. I. Leonidov, A. S. Nikolsky, M. O. Barshch, V. N. Vladimirov, etc.) searched for new principles plans for populated areas, put forward projects for the reconstruction of everyday life, and developed new types of public buildings (Palaces of Labor, Houses of Councils, workers' clubs, factory kitchens, etc.). At the same time, in their theoretical and practical activities, constructivists made a number of mistakes (attitude to the apartment as a “material form”, schematism in the organization of life in non-roofed projects of communal houses, underestimation of natural and climatic conditions, underestimation of the role major cities influenced by the ideas of deurbanism).

The aesthetics of constructivism contributed greatly to the development of modern artistic design. Based on the developments of constructivists (A. M. Rodchenko, A. M. Gan and others), new types of dishes, fittings, and furniture were created that were easy to use and designed for mass production; artists developed designs for fabrics (V.F. Stepanova, L.S. Popova) and practical models work clothes (Stepanova, V. E. Tatlin). Constructivism played a significant role in the development of poster graphics (photomontages of the Stenberg brothers, G. G. Klutsis, Rodchenko) and book design (use of the expressive capabilities of type and other typesetting elements in the works of Gan, L. M. Lisitsky, etc.). In the theater, the constructivists replaced traditional scenery with “machines” for the work of actors, subordinate to the tasks of stage action (the work of Popova, A. A. Vesnin and others on the productions of V. E. Meyerhold, A. Ya. Tairov).

Some ideas of constructivism were embodied in Western European (W. Baumeister, O. Schlemmer, etc.) fine arts. In relation to foreign art, the term “constructivism” is largely conditional: in architecture it denotes a movement within functionalism that sought to emphasize the expression of modern designs; in painting and sculpture it is one of the directions of avant-gardeism, which used some of the formal searches of early constructivism (sculptors I. Gabo, A. Pevzner).

Modernism

Art Nouveau was born at the turn of the century in European architecture as a movement to create a style for its era.

From the second half of the 19th century, with the widespread use of new building materials, primarily reinforced concrete and glass, and the development of engineering, the importance of architectural creativity began to decline. A division of labor between engineers and architects arose. Civil engineers were responsible for much of the construction of buildings. The architects retained the function of primarily a design application to the triumphant construction equipment. Architects were mainly involved in decorating structures designed by engineers without much thought about the integrity of the composition. The architecture was dominated by eclecticism and decoration.

In the 90s of the last century, Art Nouveau was defined as an architectural style. It was a means of overcoming the eclecticism that had taken hold of European architecture. Art Nouveau pursued the goal of creating a new universal synthetic style. The great masters of Art Nouveau combined architecture, plastic arts, painting, and decorative and applied arts in one work in a fabulous organism.

Modernity arose in opposition to the rationalism of the 19th century. With the advent of cast iron and steel in construction in public, and then in industrial and residential buildings, a new nomenclature of building types began to form, based on their functional purpose: supermarkets, public libraries, etc. Residential buildings are designed based on their functional zoning. Rationalism developed as if from within. Function determined form, form followed function.

Already by the 70s of the 19th century, the opinion had become established that rationalism was not quite an architectural and artistic movement, but rather an engineering matter. In architecture, the Art Nouveau style flourished rapidly and magnificently. It colored an entire period in the history of architecture at the end of the last century and entered in a deep mass deep into our century. This movement is known under the names: “Art Nouveau” in Russia, “Art Nouveau” in Belgium and France, “Secession” in Austria-Hungary, “Jugendstil” in Germany, “Alberti Style” in Italy, “Modern Style” in Great Britain , "Tiffany style" in the USA, etc.

"Art Nouveau style" develops mainly in the architecture of city mansions and expensive apartment buildings, country villas and summer cottages. When formulating the plans and composition of buildings, Art Nouveau architects boldly resorted to the use of asymmetrical solutions in the grouping of volumes and the location of window and door openings. Here, in the private life of a very wealthy client, the architect’s imagination finds material support and creative freedom. The shapes of windows, doors, and stairs become varied almost to infinity. The decorative decoration of facades, and especially interiors, reaches incredible sophistication. Great importance is attached to the expressiveness of fluid rhythms, color and texture of patterned glazed ceramic cladding, wrought iron, window and door stained glass. Modern stained glass windows are no longer abstract, like Gothic ones, but carry bionic natural forms.

Art Nouveau is characterized by silhouettes and ornaments that stylize the shapes of plants and water shells in smooth, easily curving lines. The facades were distinguished by the rounded, sometimes fantastically curved contours of the openings, the use of forged metal grilles and glazed ceramics of a restrained color: green, purple, pink, gray. Weeping, soft, seemingly self-forming forms have spread in architecture, and in decorative art - a stylized ornament creeping over the surface, growing, enveloping. A number of ornamental motifs of Art Nouveau were borrowed from the art of the Far East, primarily Japan. These motives subsequently became widespread.

In Art Nouveau, both reinforced concrete (the theory of calculations of which appeared precisely during this period) and metal as a structural and decorative element were widely used. Glass was widely used in metal structures. The appearance of these building materials influenced the creative consciousness of architects and builders. They suggested unusual structural and architectural solutions; their development ran counter to the eclecticism that had taken root in practice. Modernism tries to rethink reinforced concrete as a new building material aesthetically, and not as a new auxiliary means in construction.

The advent of electricity in 1900 played a major role in the formation of Art Nouveau style interiors. Artificial electric lighting has influenced the color vision of interiors. Stained glass windows, illuminated from the inside, gave buildings a unique appeal and interiors - expressiveness.

An undoubted conquest of modernity - a holistic approach to design separate rooms, the desire for an ensemble solution. Art Nouveau showed particular interest in the design window openings with a specific pattern of bindings and stained glass windows filling them. He actively used glazed tiles in the cladding of individual inserts on the surface of walls and in the design of window openings. One of the main roles in the design of facades, window and door openings was played by flat plaster stucco ornaments. In the stained glass designs, flowers were used as ornamental motifs - irises, poppies, various herbs, as well as lilies and others aquatic plants with long stretching stems. Geometric patterns were also used, including a meander motif in a specific design characteristic of Art Nouveau.

Great technological and artistic possibilities were opened up in the field of glass. The Nancy School, headed by E. Galle, arose in Lorraine, cultivating a complex range of colors and textures.

Art Nouveau treats the wall not only as a constructive and by definition static element. In the Art Nouveau era, trends were laid towards expressing the plasticity of the wall in an architectural volume approaching sculpture. Windows have become an organic expression of style. For the first time, window and arched openings, their fillings and decor are becoming an equally important component of the style for both the facade and the interior of buildings.

The walls of the premises were painted in pastel colors - lilac, greenish, pearl gray. Furniture of new forms was subtly combined with them. Furniture and fittings are dominated by drawn out, sluggish wavy outlines. Other types of wood were also used than before; in particular, gray smoky maple was very common. Sometimes cladding of the lower parts of the walls in the form of panels was introduced into the interiors, which were made from the same rocks as the furniture. Upholstery fabrics Most often they were produced in faded, softened tones with large stylized flowers combined with curved patterns. Ceramics and majolica were used for the external and internal cladding of buildings.

The Belgian artist-architect Victor Horta is considered the founder of Art Nouveau. The type of new building that arose during the formation of Art Nouveau as a style - the department store - is the most interesting. It required the use of large glazed surfaces. From this point of view, the Innovassion store, built by Horta in Brussels in 1901, can be called innovative. Entirely glazed, with metal frames, the facade of this building illuminated the general trading floor of the first floor, the shopping galleries of the upper floors and the connecting staircase.

The famous house of Emile Tassel (1892-1893), a professor at the University of Brussels, became a kind of manifesto of the new style. Two more mansions were built in the same style - Eitveld and Solveig. Contemporaries who made special pilgrimages to Brussels to get acquainted with Orth’s work were struck by the orderless facade of Tassel’s mansion, the metal frames of the large bay windows, as if merging with the facade. Horta showed himself to be a master of interior design. It radically changes the internal space - it opens it up, replacing partitions with well-made metal structures. By combining glass and metal so that they form, as it were, transparent films, he achieves that light penetrates everywhere and staircase turns into the illuminated center of the living space. The rooms of the mansion are flooded with light - Orta allocated half the area of ​​the first floor of the mansion from the courtyard side to the winter garden, and placed the non-passable rooms of the upper floors around the central hall and internal stairs, illuminated by a glass skylight. Victor Horta not only sought to use metal and glass, but also, by bringing out their organic qualities, to give them new architectural and artistic expressiveness. On a façade that would otherwise appear almost classical, the stone corners of the iron window "cleanches" are designed to emphasize the presence of an internal metal frame. He sought and found a new style that essentially became an expression of the emerging bourgeois class's material wealth, individuality and sophistication.

At the Tassel mansion, Horta first used a line called the "whip blow." It was a figurative expression of the tension of metal, the embodiment of the nervous, tense spirit of the era, its emblem. The grace of its curve became an example of graphic art and stylization in the windows and stained glass windows of Art Nouveau buildings.

In Germany, the new style spread somewhat later than in other European countries. It was called "Jugendstil" ("Jugend" is an art magazine around which supporters of this movement were grouped).

The photo studio "Elvira" (1897-1898) of the architect August Endel can rightfully be considered a programmatic building of German Art Nouveau.

As in other countries, with the advent of reinforced concrete, the construction of covered markets, exhibition pavilions, and halls for celebrations began to develop. Original spatial solutions for facades and interiors were created with extensive use of glass and metal.

The most interesting in this regard is the German architect Bruno Taut (1880-1938). His “Iron House” - an exhibition pavilion - was built at a construction exhibition in Leipzig in 1913, in the form of gradually decreasing volumes stacked on top of each other, topped with a dome. Each side of the pavilion is separated by a wide strip of metal and from the outside was perceived as a giant glass cage. Another pavilion built by Taut for the Werkbund exhibition in Cologne and called " Glass House", was a transparent twelve-sided volume with a large dome consisting of diamond-shaped glass plates.

In the work of the architect Hans Poelzig (1869-1936), an emphasized expressiveness is noticeable. These are the verticals of large windows in the office building he built (1911) in Breslau, rhythmically varied in size and shape on the windows of an industrial chemical factory in Leoban, near Poznan.

The architectural movement of Art Nouveau introduced a fresh stream of search into the architecture of France and, what was especially significant, it turned out to be the first stylistic movement to break with imitative styles. The first salon under the name "Art Nouveau" opened in Paris in 1895. Painting and sculpture (Roden), applied art, Galle and Tiffany glass, Lolic jewelry, graphics by Bodsley, Bradley, and Mackintosh coexisted here.

The main representative of Art Nouveau in French architecture was Hector Guimard. In 1899, he received an order for the construction of Paris metro stations. In these unusually light pavilions made of glass and metal, repeating organic forms, the combination of structural and decorative elements was especially successful.

The Art Nouveau style also influenced the construction of the Vienna Metro. Otto Wagner, an exponent of the ideas of “secession”, head of the department of architecture at the Academy of Plastic Arts, sought to create a new style that would get rid of the repetitions of the past and would be in tune with the times. The metro stations designed and built by Wagner are distinguished by the simplicity and purity of Art Nouveau lines, elegantly outlined lines of window and door openings, large glazing planes, and the use of metal.

When turning to modernity, the common phrase - “windows are the eyes of buildings” - takes on a special meaning. Fancy windows and stained-glass windows of Art Nouveau look at the world with the mysterious gaze of an exotic beauty.

Antonio Gaudi i Cornet is the most unusual and original architect of the Art Nouveau style. His work was so isolated among the modern movements that it was given a special name - “Antoniogound”. His work is perhaps one of the most controversial phenomena in European architecture. The uniqueness of the style of the famous Spaniard is that he used the reinforced concrete that appeared to imitate the complex organic forms of nature in his structures, imitating the complex configurations and lines characteristic of rocks, trees, and shells. Windows with smoothly outlined lines timidly peek out from under reinforced concrete “eyebrows” entwined with complex stucco decorations. One of Gaudi's most famous buildings is the Casa Mila, popularly nicknamed "La Pedrera", which means "stone". This one, located on a corner lot, is six stories high. apartment building resembles a huge rock, its window and door openings look like grottoes, and metal parts balcony railings - on fancy climbing plants.

The creators of Art Nouveau freely resort to asymmetrical forms and compositions. The window and door openings filled with bizarre curves are organically woven into the living plasticity of buildings of the new style.

Modernity was not only an elitist phenomenon. He became the founder of mass culture. If rationalism became widespread in 50 years, then the seeds of modernity scattered throughout the world literally in one week thanks to the advent of rotary machines and, as a consequence, the mass distribution of printed products - newspapers and magazines, transported by trains. Art Nouveau dominated architecture for 20-25 years and was continued in functionalism and expressionism.

Japanese style, according to designers, is the most popular ethnic style now. This is a minimalist decorative style in which nothing overloads the attention, the space is structured calmly and clearly. In a geographically small, resettled country, space is especially valued, which is why the interior design of the premises minimizes furniture and other familiar attributes of the house in order to compensate for its shortage. The Japanese have a special relationship with nature, so Japanese style associated with natural colors, mainly in light colors: shades of beige, white, cream, milky. Restrained light colors are also characteristic of Japanese furniture; the surface of furniture and walls is smooth and untextured. The fabrics are also cream and white, mostly natural: cotton and silk. In the land of the rising sun, the place to relax is located in the center of the room. A typical detail is the Japanese sliding wall, and of course, bamboo furniture. Hieroglyphs are an almost inevitable attribute of home decoration “inspired by Japan.” Modest low furniture, sofas and tables of different heights fit perfectly into such an interior.

France became the birthplace of this trend, but it quickly spread to other countries, including Russia. The Empire style in Russian architecture was reflected in the best sights of that time.

Empire style buildings in Russian architecture

The Empire style in Russia in the 19th century most clearly manifested itself in the architecture and decorative and applied arts of the capital of the Russian Empire. The Empire style is rightly called the “royal” or “imperial” style, since it was designed to convey all the power and majesty of the state.

Historians note a rather interesting fact: in Russia, the style of the Napoleonic era quickly and easily took root in the country that defeated Napoleon Bonaparte. However, this circumstance can be easily explained, because it is known that in the Russian Empire there was a fashion for everything French, and at the same time it really looked luxurious and chic.

The Empire style in Russian architecture became famous thanks to Emperor Alexander I. The ruler of the Russian Empire very often invited foreign architects to the country. The architecture of that time is often called “Alexandrovsky classicism.” Experts say that the Russian Empire style had significant differences from the European one.

They were manifested, first of all, in the fact that this direction in architecture and decorative and applied arts of Russia is known for the use of classical order systems. The main characteristic feature of the direction was the combination of geometrically correct forms, as well as the harmonious fusion of the solemn elation of images and the restrained beauty of stucco molding as the main element of decor.

The main purpose of using the Empire style in the architecture of Russia in the 19th century was to reflect the country’s patriotism, military glory and national uplift. Based on this, almost all buildings in the Russian Empire of that time were distinguished by solemnity, pomp and severity of geometric forms at the same time. The Russian Empire style, just like the Napoleonic one, is characterized by the use of images of Roman shields, torches, arrows, laurel wreaths, lion paws, and eagles.

The style is conventionally divided into two large groups - (metropolitan) and (provincial). Empire style buildings in Russia bore the features of one of these two varieties of popular art movements. However, in the process of erecting buildings of national importance, exclusively elements of the capital's Empire style were used.

Architects – representatives of the Russian Empire style

Several talented architects simultaneously played a major role in the development of Empire art in Russia. Andrey Nikiforovich Voronikhin is one of the outstanding architects, the founders of the Russian Empire style in the Russian Empire. He developed not only building designs, but also thought through the smallest detail of interior decor, furniture, and even selected lighting devices, achieving the integrity of the image.

The main works of the master during the period of active development of the Russian Empire style were the Kazan Cathedral and the Mining Institute.

Of particular interest for the history of architecture is the Kazan Cathedral, the building of which was erected according to the design of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome with Michelangelo's dome and Bernini's colonnade.

Other architects of the Russian Empire style are also known who presented the state with unique monuments of decorative and applied art. Carlo Antonio de Rossi is a famous Russian architect of Italian origin. The master was able to convey in his works as accurately as possible the triumphant, sovereign mood of the empire.

Carlo de Rossi's first project was the front embankment from the Winter Palace to Senate Square.

Also, under the leadership of this architect, such architectural monuments in the Empire style were erected as the palace of Empress Maria Feodorovna on Elagin Island, the ensemble of Palace Square, and the Synod.

The Empire style in Russian architecture was clearly manifested in such a structure as the Alexander Column. The architect O. Montferrand worked on its creation according to the design of C. Rossi.

Another equally famous architect, a representative of the Russian Empire style, is Vasily Petrovich Stasov. He became the author of the Guards Cathedrals - Spaso-Preobrazhensky and Holy Trinity.

In addition, Stasov was responsible for the creation of two Triumphal Gates in St. Petersburg.

St. Isaac's Cathedral is one of the architectural monuments of the Empire era in Russia. For its construction, Emperor Alexander I invited the architect from France Auguste Montferrand. Subsequently, he became one of the founders of the Russian Empire style in Russia.

In the 19th century, other talented architects were known in the Russian Empire. These are such masters as Domenico Gilardi, Andrei Zakharov, Osip Bove, as well as sculptors Feodosius Shchedrin and Ivan Martos.

- (from the French empire empire), a style in architecture and art of the first three decades of the 19th century, completing the evolution of classicism. Focusing on examples of ancient art, the Empire style primarily relied on the artistic heritage of archaic... Art encyclopedia

empire style- a, m. empire m. 1. A large monarchical state of ancient and modern times. BISH. In French it is pronounced: empire. What is an empire? , one friend asked me. This is the unification of those who cannot be united under one power, I answered. Ogarev Empire. 2... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

empire style- EMPIRE, ah, m. What l. pompous, pretentious, pompous, pretentious. Not an empire woman. Stalin's Empire style architecture from the times of J.V. Stalin. Soviet Empire style typical Soviet architecture... Dictionary of Russian argot

- (from French empire lit. empire), style in architecture and decorative arts of the first three decades of the 19th century, which completed the development of classicism. Massive lapidary, emphatically monumental forms and rich decor (military emblems, ornaments),... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Empire style- Empire. F.O. Jacob. Locker. National Museum. Fontainebleau (France). EMPIRE (from the French empire, literally empire), a style in architecture and decorative art of the 1st third of the 19th century, which completed the development of classicism. Originally formed in... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

AMPIRE, Empire style, male. (French empire, lit. empire) (law). Art style, prem. in architecture and furniture, spreading from France during the imperial era (at the beginning of the 19th century) to the West. Europe and Russia. Russian Empire style. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N.... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

- (from the French empire, literally empire), a style in architecture and decorative art of the 1st third of the 19th century, which completed the development of classicism. Originally formed in France under Napoleon I, it served to embody the ideas of state power.… … Modern encyclopedia

1. a, husband Originated in France at the end of the 18th century. 19th century a style in architecture and decorative arts based on imitation of ancient models. 2. unchangeable Having this style, made in this style. Architecture a. | adj. empire, oh, oh (to... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

- (from the French empire, literally empire), a style in the architecture of the first quarter of the 19th century, which completed the evolution of classicism. Focusing on examples of ancient art, he relied on the artistic heritage of archaic Greece, the imperial... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

Noun, number of synonyms: 1 style (95) Dictionary of synonyms ASIS. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

- (French empire - lit. empire) - a style in architecture and decorative art of the first three decades of the 19th century, which completed the development of classicism. It took shape during the period of the empire of Napoleon I in France, where it was distinguished by the ceremonial splendor of the memorial... ... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

Books

• Empire style "B", Victor Pelevin. The young man becomes a vampire, a superman, one of the representatives of a race that bred people to feed them like cattle. In his new life he will have to study the most important sciences to understand...
• Empire style "B", Victor Pelevin. The young man becomes a vampire, a superman, one of the representatives of a race that bred people to feed like cattle. In his new life he will have to study the most important sciences to understand...

The Empire style in art and costume is associated with the name of one person - Napoleon Bonaparte. During the reign of Napoleon, this style originated. And it is with the defeat of Napoleon that the decline of the Empire style in European art is associated.

Jacques Louis David
Emperor Napoleon in his study in the Tuileries

Empire style means imperial. Napoleon believed that he had the power to revive the Roman Empire by conquering and uniting all of Europe. And it begins to manifest itself in the art of France at the beginning of the 19th century.

Columns of the Corinthian order, symmetry, marble sculptures, including ancient gods, all this is inherent in the Empire style. And even a triumphal arch appears in Paris. Like the Roman emperors who erected triumphal arches in honor of their victories, Napoleon orders the construction of a triumphal arch in honor of the victories of his “Great Army”.

Firmin Massot
Empress Josephine

The Empire style at the beginning of the 19th century was mainly widespread in France. In parallel with it, another style of the early 19th century was developing - romanticism. And if in France there was an imperial style, then romanticism was inherent in the art of England and Germany.

Empress Josephine - wife of Napoleon,
was considered a trendsetter in the Empire style

The only country, besides France, in which the Empire style became widespread at the beginning of the 19th century, was the Russian Empire. And this is also not surprising - Russia also laid claim to the role of heir to the Roman Empire. There is a phrase - “Moscow is the third Rome.” The city of Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, was traditionally considered the second Rome. Namely from Byzantium once Kievan Rus accepted Christianity.

V.L. Borovikovsky
Portrait of Lopukhina

It's the same in fashion. Empire style fashion at the beginning of the 19th century was most widespread in France and the Russian Empire.
The Empire style costume, like art, was based on Roman traditions. In contrast to the costume of the previous style, the Empire style was classicism, the clothing of which largely imitated the costume of Ancient Greece.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Riviere, 1805

The Roman influence on the Empire style costume was especially noticeable in women's dress. A dress of a shirt cut, like Roman tunics, gathered in folds, so popular in ancient Greek and Roman costumes. And, of course, a high waistline, like the Roman table, which in Rome was worn only by married women.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Madame Rivière, née Marie Françoise Biben Blau de Beauregard, 1806

An empire style dress is a long white dress with short ball-shaped sleeves () emphasizing the shoulders, and with a high waistline, very often highlighted by a belt.

Before 1809, women did not wear corsets with Empire style dresses. The corset went out of fashion immediately after the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century, as a relic of aristocratic fashion. However, already in 1809, corsets came back into fashion.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Madame Leblanc, 1823

White, light fabric, often silk, empire style dress latest fashion of that time, it was often worn wet so that the fabric hugged the figure and, thus, the female figure resembled the white marble columns of ancient temples.

In cold climates, such fashion contributed to the emergence of real fashion victims. In winter St. Petersburg, young ladies caught pneumonia, from which in those days one could easily die.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Madame Devose, 1807

But already in the 1810s, Empire style dresses were gradually adapted to the European climate. So, dresses are starting to be made from denser and more expensive fabrics, for example, brocade or. Dresses are no longer exclusively white, however, they are still most often monochromatic.

V.L. Borovikovsky
Portrait of Princess Dolgoruky, 1811

Dresses are also decorated with embroidery. There are also options for dresses with long sleeves. In the 1810s, Empire style dresses lost their trains, and their skirts acquired a narrow, bell-shaped shape.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Madame Marcotte de Sainte-Marie, 1826

Over the dresses they could wear a short jacket - a spencer or Kashmir shawls. As in Antiquity, great importance is attached to draperies. So, in those days, instead of the phrase “well dressed,” a woman could be said to be “well draped.” Russian fur coats are also becoming fashionable.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Madame Tournon, 1812

Very often long gloves are worn with empire style dresses. On the neck is a string of pearls or small beads.

As for the men's suit, its main quality since the beginning of the 19th century has been convenience. Ruffles, lush, somewhat reminiscent of a skirt, trousers, powdered wigs, all this is becoming a thing of the past. Fashion in the 19th century was no longer dictated by aristocrats, but by representatives of the bourgeoisie. That is, business people, people who work and lead an active lifestyle.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Philibert Riviere, 1808

Thus, at the beginning of the 19th century, stockings and short culottes were replaced by long trousers, ankle-length pantaloons. These trousers are most often worn with suspenders.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Monsieur de Norvin, 1811-1812

Also, men of the early 19th century wore a white shirt with a starched stand-up collar, a colorful vest and a frock coat. The coat is double-breasted, hip-length, with a high collar. Later, the frock coat is replaced by a tailcoat. In the 19th century, a tailcoat was casual wear. It could be of different colors.

A tailcoat was most often worn with light trousers and a vest that was lighter in color than the tailcoat. Around their necks, men of the early 19th century wore a prototype of a tie - neckerchiefs, which could be tucked behind a vest or tied in various ways, for example, with a knot or a bow.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Portrait of Edme Bochet, 1811

And, of course, many men at the beginning of the 19th century wore military uniforms. After all, we should not forget that the beginning of the 19th century was the time of Napoleon and his wars in Europe. Napoleon himself also preferred to wear a military uniform, in which he was depicted in ceremonial portraits.

Paul Delaroche

Empire style fashion had a great influence on modern suiting. So, in fact, at the beginning of the 19th century, the prototype of a modern men's suit was formed - jacket, white shirt, trousers, tie. As for women's empire style dresses, even today empire dresses - light, shirt-cut dresses with high waistlines are also relevant. Empire style dresses are very popular in wedding fashion.

Stills from the film "War and Peace" 1967

And this is not surprising. These dresses suit many people. After all, dresses in the empire style can hide many figure flaws - for example, make you visually taller or hide extra pounds.