CHAIRS, A HISTORY

Descriere

What seminal textbooks such as Helen Gardner’s Art Through the Ages or Janson’s History of Art or even E. H. Gombrich’s The Story of Art were to the field of Art History, Chairs: A History by Florence de Dampierre will be to the field of Design. Released by Abrams in November this book is the single most comprehensive resource on the evolution of the chair.

Chairs: A History, is written according to the methodology of traditional art history; a process that is both chronological in timeframe and uses masterpieces to illustrate a running discussion of taste, social history and artistic materials and techniques. The book is mammoth in size and lavish in its copious amount of gorgeous full color images. Incredible, unsurpassed photographs were taken in more than thirty international design museums and The Vatican. Most of these images, as well as a great number of the chairs, have never been published before, making the volume an even bigger treat for the fans of chairs.

This publication features an incredible array of chair masterpieces in Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman types from the Medieval Ages and The Renaissance to the end of the twentieth century. These are all seats of power, the accouterment of Rulers, nobility and the wealthiest class.

While this book is breathtaking, it is Eurocentric, elitist and urbane and very little is mentioned of seating forms from other lands. Missing are the stools of African Kings as well as the charming furnishings found on farms and in rural villages. However, don’t let that dissuade you one bit. This book should be one of the top ten in any designer library.

Florence de Dampierre spent eight years researching this book, although it looks more like twenty years of work. She is an interior designer, writer and former antiques dealer who lives in Connecticut in a pristinely preserved 18th century residence.