Adam Weisweiler
Encyclopedia
Adam Weisweiler was a pre-eminent French
master cabinetmaker (ébéniste
) in the Louis XVI
period, working in Paris.
Weisweiler is said to have been born at Neuwied-am-Rhein
and to have received his early training in David Roentgen's workshop. He was in Paris before1777, when he married Barbe Conte, and was received maître 26 March 1778. Thus all pieces bearing his stamp post-date that event.
Weisweiler worked notably for the marchands-mercier
s, who alone could supply him with the Japanese lacquer panels that, combined with ebony
and refined gilt-bronze, characterise some of his finest work. Through Dominique Daguerre
he supplied the writing table of steel, lacquer and ebony and gilt-bronze for Marie Antoinette
at the château de Saint-Cloud
in 1784. Through Daguerre again he provided furniture for the Prince Regent (later George IV) at Carlton House, London. Weisweiler specialised in small refined pieces, with fine lines, delicate legs with light interlaced stretchers, and gilt-bronze low-relief plaques and mounts, some provided to him by Pierre Gouthière
through Daguerre, often decorated with panels of Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain plaques, even panels of pietra dura
. Pictorial marquetry
is not found in his output. Alvar González-Palacios, in demonstrating that the Weisweiler lacquer suite consisting of a pair of drop-front secretary desks and a commode, from the Wrightsman collection now at the Metropolitan Museum, had been sold by Daguerre c1790 for the king of Naples' cabinet at Caserta
, observes that it would be more accurate to say that they are in the manner of Daguerre rather than that they are typical of Weisweiler.
Unlike other luxury furniture makers of the Ancien Régime, Weisweiler weathered the Revolution. In 1810 he was supplying Queen Hortense
and collaborating with Pierre-Philippe Thomire
. After his retirement, his son Jean Weisweiler continued the workshop until 1844.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
master cabinetmaker (ébéniste
Ébéniste
Ébéniste is the French word for a cabinetmaker, whereas in French menuisier denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker. The English equivalent for "ébéniste," "ebonist," is never commonly used. Originally, an ébéniste was one who worked with ebony, a favoured luxury wood for mid-seventeenth century...
) in the Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
period, working in Paris.
Weisweiler is said to have been born at Neuwied-am-Rhein
Neuwied
Neuwied is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the right bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne...
and to have received his early training in David Roentgen's workshop. He was in Paris before1777, when he married Barbe Conte, and was received maître 26 March 1778. Thus all pieces bearing his stamp post-date that event.
Weisweiler worked notably for the marchands-mercier
Marchand-mercier
A marchand-mercier is a French term for a type of entrepreneur working outside the guild system of craftsmen but carefully constrained by the regulations of a corporation under rules codified in 1613.. The reduplicative term literally means a merchant of merchandise, but in the 18th century took...
s, who alone could supply him with the Japanese lacquer panels that, combined with ebony
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
and refined gilt-bronze, characterise some of his finest work. Through Dominique Daguerre
Dominique Daguerre
Dominique Daguerre was a Parisian marchand-mercier who was in partnership from 1772 with Simon-Philippe Poirier, an arbiter of taste and the inventor of furniture mounted with Sèvres porcelain plaques; Daguerre assumed Poirier's business at La Couronne d'Or in the Faubourg Saint-Honoré in 1777/78...
he supplied the writing table of steel, lacquer and ebony and gilt-bronze for Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
at the château de Saint-Cloud
Château de Saint-Cloud
The Château de Saint-Cloud was a Palace in France, built on a magnificent site overlooking the Seine at Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, about 10 kilometres west of Paris. Today it is a large park on the outskirts of the capital and is owned by the state, but the area as a whole has had a large...
in 1784. Through Daguerre again he provided furniture for the Prince Regent (later George IV) at Carlton House, London. Weisweiler specialised in small refined pieces, with fine lines, delicate legs with light interlaced stretchers, and gilt-bronze low-relief plaques and mounts, some provided to him by Pierre Gouthière
Pierre Gouthière
Pierre Gouthière , French metal worker, was born at Bar-sur-Aube and went to Paris at an early age as the pupil of Martin Cour....
through Daguerre, often decorated with panels of Japanese lacquer and Sèvres porcelain plaques, even panels of pietra dura
Pietra dura
Pietra dura or pietre dure , called parchin kari in South Asia, is a term for the technique of using cut and fitted, highly-polished colored stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art...
. Pictorial marquetry
Marquetry
Marquetry is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furniture or even seat furniture, to decorative small objects with smooth, veneerable surfaces or to freestanding pictorial panels...
is not found in his output. Alvar González-Palacios, in demonstrating that the Weisweiler lacquer suite consisting of a pair of drop-front secretary desks and a commode, from the Wrightsman collection now at the Metropolitan Museum, had been sold by Daguerre c1790 for the king of Naples' cabinet at Caserta
Caserta Palace
The Royal Palace of Caserta is a former royal residence in Caserta, southern Italy, constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples. It was the largest palace and one of the largest buildings erected in Europe during the 18th century...
, observes that it would be more accurate to say that they are in the manner of Daguerre rather than that they are typical of Weisweiler.
Unlike other luxury furniture makers of the Ancien Régime, Weisweiler weathered the Revolution. In 1810 he was supplying Queen Hortense
Hortense de Beauharnais
Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte , Queen Consort of Holland, was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoleon I, being the daughter of his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. She later became the wife of the former's brother, Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland, and the mother of Napoleon III, Emperor of...
and collaborating with Pierre-Philippe Thomire
Pierre-Philippe Thomire
Pierre-Philippe Thomire a French sculptor, was the most prominent bronzier, or producer of ornamental patinated and gilt-bronze objects and furniture mounts of the First French Empire...
. After his retirement, his son Jean Weisweiler continued the workshop until 1844.
External links
- Adam Weisweiler (German-born French Furniture Artist, 1744-1820) at ARTCYCLOPEDIA