Andre-Charles Boulle

Andre-Charles Boulle was a Master cabinetmaker sculptor, founder, engraver, gilder, painter and draftsman French of the 17th century, born with Paris the November 11th 1642, dead the February 29th 1732.

Biography

André Charles Boulle is resulting from a catholic family. It is the son of Jean Boulle, ebony carpenter, born in Gueldre German. Of 1666 with 1676, it has its own workshop where will work to 40 people, of which its own wire. Starting from 1672, the king Louis XIV, on the councils of Colbert, which regards it as “most skilful cabinetmaker of Paris”, offers to him a housing with the Louvre. It will live there until its death at the 89 years age. He saw himself allotting the place of Jean Macé, another great figure of the cabinet work. To be allowed in Louvre is a sign of the royal favor, but it is also a privilege of freedom compared to the Corporation S (or Guilde S, structured communities practitioner the numerus clausus and defining the payments of a profession under the Old Mode). Regarded as the most famous cabinetmaker of the history, it introduced in furnishing the art of the gilded bronze, which it carved, and itself gilded engraved founded, and carried it at a point of nobility and excellence without comparison in its time.

It diffused in France a technique, used later in Italy and Holland, consisting in encrusting the pieces of furniture with, inter alia materials, of the scale of tortoise, the horn, tin, brass or copper. It is famous the Marqueterie Swell which bears its name today. It made, with this technique, of many cases of pendulums for the most famous clock and watch makers, of which those of the king Balthazar Martinot, Isaac and Jacques Thuret.

Collector of impassioned and unreasonable Art, it will be several times close to the financial ruin and will owe its safety with an intervention of the sun king Louis XIV of which he is then “first cabinetmaker”. For the anecdote, let us mention that the collection of art of Ball, made up of very diverse works, known in its time like one of most beautiful and most complete (Rubens, Van Dyk, Mignard, Snyders, Bourdon, Brown the and well of others), estimated then at 370.770 books, disappeared almost entirely in a fire undoubtedly criminal which declared on August 30th, 1720 at three o'clock in the morning.

It continued to direct its workshop until its death.

Four of its sons continued its work:

Marquetries in the kind of Ball also had success under the reign of Louis XVI and under that of Napoleon III.

He published a collection of “ Nouveaux drawings of pieces of furniture and works of bronze and marquetry ”.

One of the most famous schools of Applied arts of Paris bears its name, it is the school Boulle.

Its stamp

At the time of Ball, the obligation of estampiller did not exist yet, there is necessary to wait until 1743. It does not seem to exist marks of stamp of Ball.

Its dimension

The most recent prices:

A flat office (about 1710) allotted to Andre-Charles Boulle, resulting from the Wildenstein collection, was sold by Christie' S London the 14 or December 15th, 2005 for the sum of £2 920.000 is 4.321.000 €. As well as a pair the shelly ones in amaranth in the manner of Ball (1 221.888 €), two allotted table-consoles (1 636.288 €), an office allotted to one of wire Swell with a signed clock " J. Henry Enderlin has Paris" (940 096 €). All these pieces of furniture resulted from the same collection.

Files

  • The Swell Files , Research center Histories, 92, rue La Fayette, 75009 Paris, + 33 1 47 70 19 02, crhme@club-internet.fr

Museums

  • Castle of Versailles: Large apartment of the King, Mercury Living room:

    • "Convenient of the room of Louis XIV in Large Trianon" (1708-1709) Built oak, plating of scales of tortoise with brass incrustations, bronzes gilded.

Three large collections of furniture allotted to André Charles Boulle:

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