Jean-Henri Riesener

Jean-Henri Riesener is a French cabinetmaker of German origin (born in 1734 with Gladbeck, in Westphalia, and died with Paris in 1806).

Biography

It arrives at Paris towards 1755 and enters the workshop of Jean-François Oeben. With died of this one, it takes the direction of the workshop of its former Master. For that, he marries the widow of his former Master (Francoise-Marguerite Vandercruse then Oeben), with the great despair of one of the other employees of the workshop, Leleu. As long as Riesner will not have its own control, it will use the stamp of J. - F. Oeben. It will have a son painter, Henri-François Riesener (1767-1828), raises of David.

Main receipt in 1768, it is named “ ordinary cabinetmaker of the king ” in 1774, and during ten years it will provide the Court and the royal family in sumptuous pieces of furniture of neo-classic style . He is regarded as one of the best representatives of the Style Louis XVI and will complete in particular celebrates it office of unfinished Louis XV left by Oeben. Among its specificities it is advisable to note the use of bronzes gilded of a very large smoothness, it is one of the first systematically to dissimulate fixings of these bronzes. With the assistance of Pierre-Elisabeth de Fontanieu, intendant of the Furniture depository, J. - H. Riesener is that which makes evolve the style Louis XV to the style Louis XVI. With the end of a career, Fontanieu will reproach him its excessive prices.

After the French revolution its popularity declines and it withdraws in 1800. During the revolutionary sales, it repurchases part of its production, at low prices with those to which the Crown had bought to him, and it will not manage to resell them, owing to the fact that most of its customers disappeared, and as, as the last style changed.

Reference

Möbel von J.H. Riesener, Pierre Verlet, in Franz Schneekluth Verlag, Darmstadt, 1957 (in German).

Museum

J. - H. Riesener is probably the French cabinetmaker more represented in the museums all over the world.

Austria :

Vienna, Osterreichisches Museum.

the United States of America :

Boston, Boston Museum off Fine Arts, Collection Forsyth Wickes.
Cleveland, Cleveland Museum off Article
Chicago, Art institute.
Strait, Institute Strait off Arts.
Malibu, Getty Museum.
New York, Frick Collection.
New York, Metropolitan Museum off Article
Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum off Article
San Marino, Huntington Collection.
Saint Louis, Saint Louis Art Museum.
Washington, Hillwood Museum.
Washington, National Gallery off Article

France :

Compiegne, Castle.
Chantilly, Museum Cop.
Fontainebleau, Castle.
Lyon, Museum of decorative Arts.
Paris, Public records.
Paris, Museum of Decorative Arts.
Paris, Carnavalet Museum.
Paris, Museum of Louvre.
Paris, Museum Nissim de Camondo.
Sevres, National museum of ceramics.
Midsummer's Day Cape-Ferrat, Ephrussi Villa.
Versailles, with the National museum of the castle and Trianons is the most beautiful collection of pieces of furniture of J. - H. Riesener. It is necessary to see there celebrates it " count of Muses". (a part with Trianon).

Netherlands :

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum.

Portugal :

Lisbon, Collection Galouste Gulbenkian.

the United Kingdom :

Aylesbury, Waddesdon Manor.
London, Buckingham Palace.
London, Wallace Collection.
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Jones Collection.

Russia :

Saint-Petersbourg, Pavlovsk Palate.

See too

List of pieces of furniture and objets d'art
List of famous cabinetmakers

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