As DK World Furniture Encyclopedia shows, the changes of furniture have always followed the trend of the times and faithfully reflected people's pursuit of beauty and taste in life.
DK World Furniture Encyclopedia is a furniture encyclopedia jointly produced by DK and Judith miller, a famous British furniture antique collector. The book * * * contains 3,500 color pictures, with a length of 560,000 words, and tells the evolution process from ancient Egyptian, ancient Greek and Roman furniture to post-modern style furniture under the background of time period and artistic style. The time span is 3000 years, presenting a visual feast of furniture for readers. Moreover, DK World Furniture Encyclopedia explains furniture in detail.
The design style of furniture is bound to be influenced by the artistic style of the times. For those who have a certain understanding of art history, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism and other styles are familiar. These styles are all the rage in home design.
However, DK World Furniture Encyclopedia has a more detailed classification of styles, including not only Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism, Empire, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau Movement, Decorative Arts, Modernism and Postmodernism, but also Gothic, Chinese, Louis XV, Queen Anne, Gustav, Federalism, Degmer and Regency.
At the same time, it also analyzes the differences in details of the design characteristics of furniture belonging to the same style in different countries. For example, the royal style furniture, which was also in the early19th century, has developed its own style characteristics and different details in different countries such as France, Britain, Germany and the United States.
The book is divided into 12 chapters according to the time period and artistic style. Each chapter summarizes the style elements of furniture in this period, and combs the details of the style elements clearly through the combination of pictures and texts, which is easy to master and identify.
For example, the style elements of Rococo furniture include embossed leather, ball claw feet, flower mosaic, backrest, Chinese style, triangular table feet, shell patterns, gold-plated ornaments, mythical figures, embroidery, wood carving, keyhole covers and so on. Each specific style element is briefly explained in the book, with typical illustrations, so that readers can intuitively understand the corresponding style elements.
In addition, according to the unique techniques used in furniture making in different times, the book also makes a special introduction, such as hard stone inlay and imitation marble, Boolean inlay, graphic cutting, gold-plated leather technology, miniature inlay and so on.
Chairs, tables and cabinets are the most commonly used basic shapes in furniture, and they are also the most common furniture in all ages. In almost every chapter of DK World Furniture Encyclopedia, these basic furniture are taken as examples, and a number of design products with the style of this era are listed. Illustrating with illustrations of basic objects is universal and representative, which not only enables readers to have an intuitive understanding of the design style of the corresponding era, but also enables them to be familiar with the differences of works with different styles through the comparison of objects in different eras.
For example, an armchair in the Baroque era may have gorgeous carvings and fine inlays, which look magnificent.
A neoclassical armchair is much simpler in shape, and may be equipped with an oval chair back, which is square in shape and symmetrical in design.
And a post-modernist chair may present a surreal, streamlined, lightweight and peculiar shape, which is very design-oriented.
Comparing before and after, we will find that chairs in different times have changed so much in shape. The change of home design style can be seen.
Everyone will try to create a comfortable living space for themselves. Then, the choice and arrangement of furniture naturally has a strong personal color. As the main object of living space, furniture can best reflect people's taste in life. Or gorgeous, or fresh, or warm, or simple ... ever-changing styles, each one can see the owner's careful design and personal preferences.
From classical to modern, furniture has experienced thousands of years of evolution, and the aesthetics of furniture design is constantly developing. From the change of mainstream style, we can see people's unremitting pursuit of life taste.
Back in the historical era, exquisite furniture is often a luxury of wealthy businessmen and nobles, especially in line with the wealth, power and status of the host family. Therefore, on the basis of ensuring comfort and practicality, rich and gorgeous styles are naturally favored.
Sculpture and dramatic baroque style are extremely rich and solemn at first glance, often decorated with gorgeous carving, exquisite mosaic and painting techniques, as well as Louis XIV's badge, gold-plated copper bottom and even silver furniture. Comparatively speaking, the subsequent rococo style is lighter and more feminine, with embossed leather, shell patterns, mythical figures, gold-plated ornaments and other elements. Born out of Rococo style, Queen Anne's style has become more restrained, paying attention to the overall elegant taste.
Originated from the imperial style of Napoleon in France, as the name implies, it likes to show its powerful strength and imperial momentum with pendants, laurels, medals, sphinxes and other elements. At the same time, the popular Bidemai style is more like a simplified version of the imperial style, which is simple, classic, comfortable and practical, and meets the aesthetic needs of the middle class.
The modernist style, born after World War I, tried to put an end to the influence of all historical styles, boldly adopted unusual geometric shapes and abandoned impractical decorations, which brought a new trend to furniture design. Since then, there have been many practical, concise, creative and modern styling designs.
Postmodernism, on the other hand, rejected the modernist design concept, not only rejected all historical styles, but also deliberately absorbed and integrated the patterns of different eras, which were simple, comfortable, elegant, practical, changeable in shape, pursuing creativity and designing eclectic furniture.
What kind of furniture is beautiful? Every era has its own appreciation standards, and there is no unified answer. From the luxurious and solemn aristocratic style in ancient times to the modern style with a sense of design today, the aesthetics of furniture design has been constantly evolving.
When it comes to handicrafts, we will think of fine workmanship, ingenuity, quality assurance and rare works. When it comes to mechanical products, our first impression may be mass manufacturing, standardization, high efficiency and easy access. Handicraft products rely on the accumulation of historical experience, and mechanical products cannot be separated from high-tech mechanical production methods. Comparatively speaking, handicraft products and machinery manufacturing products have their own advantages and disadvantages, and each has its own supporters.
In 1970s and 1980s, two completely different design concepts appeared in the field of furniture design, namely, high-tech school and handicraft revival. Designers who support the high-tech school to pursue the functional and mechanized design of modernism, design products in a concise, rational and structured engineering style, and advocate the use of manual design to manufacture exquisite and luxurious handicrafts. Both factions insisted on their own opinions, contended with each other and created their own successful works.
In the 1990s, computer-related technologies advanced by leaps and bounds, which provided designers with a broader creative platform, and at the same time provided new cooperation opportunities for high-tech schools and handicraft revival schools that were originally competing with each other. As a result, the two sides "turned enemies into friends", shook hands and cooperated to create creative works that combined their respective advantages and conformed to the contemporary trend, forming a new trend.
This also shows that art design has unlimited possibilities. With the continuous development of culture, there will always be more room for the design concept, and the pursuit of artistic beauty will never stop.
Every era has a popular style of furniture art. Similarly, outstanding people will emerge in the furniture industry of every era. In the same industry background, those successful furniture manufacturers in history often stand out with their unique designs.
David Roentgen was a famous cabinet maker in the second half of the18th century. He is famous for designing and making writing desks. It is not difficult to make a writing desk. David Roentgen became famous because the writing desk he designed has a unique mechanical structure, which can not only be disassembled into standard parts and assembled flexibly, but also be deformed flexibly according to needs. Roentgen-style furniture is also decorated with some exquisite graphic mosaics, including branches, musical instruments, architectural scenes and other complex graphics.
David Roentgen made tables for Prussian frederick the great, Queen Marie Antoinette and Catherine the Great, and became a furniture dealer for Queen Mary, Louis XVI and the Queen. It can be said that he was famous for some time.
Bert is a representative figure of American Rococo Renaissance. He designed the breakthrough technology of laminated sheet. Through this process, it is possible to bond the difficult-to-process laminates with thin wood strips, and the texture of each layer is perpendicular to the bottom layer, thus enhancing the natural strength of wood. Furniture made of this laminated material is not easy to crack and durable. Bert also applied for patents for furniture making tools, laminated cutting technology and central locking equipment he invented.
The iconic Bert furniture is usually made of eight layers of pressure plates, and sometimes even sixteen layers of composite plates. He also used steam stamping to bend the panel into a beautiful arc, and then decorated it with tight "C" and "S" scrolls. These have become the unique symbols of Bert's works.
The curved wooden chairs of sonnets achieved unprecedented success in the19th century, and also had a far-reaching impact on the development of home design. Sonnets are good at using steam bending technology. This process can change soaked or softened wood into any shape under pressure. Therefore, the curved wooden chair made of sonnets, all parts of the components are designed to be simple and beautiful arc, simple and generous, full of beauty.
In the late 1950s, Sonnets designed the world-famous "14 chair" for Dom Cafe in Vienna. By the end of 19, the sales volume of this chair in Europe has reached150,000, making it a popular practical furniture. Until today, in restaurants, conference rooms and other occasions, you can often see chairs with the shape similar to the chair 14.
These successful furniture manufacturers have one thing in common. They can often use or invent new production technologies, and rely on these new technologies to design unique works. Their design ideas are full of creativity and individuality, which make people shine, bring great influence to the industry and even lead the new trend. This is the pursuit of all designers and the driving force for the continuous development and progress of human aesthetics.
How beautiful is the furniture in history? This DK Encyclopedia of World Furniture answers with exquisite pictures and detailed explanations. This large-format and heavy furniture encyclopedia, like a small "furniture history museum", not only enjoyed a visual feast, but also supplemented a wealth of furniture design knowledge. Want to know the history of furniture, this is a good book worth recommending.
Rime on May 24, 2020