Transitional Furniture

French furniture made between about 1760 and 1775 is known as 'Transitional', and displays characteristics of both the Rococo and Neoclassical styles.

French Transitional Furniture
This furniture reflects the transition from Rococo to the Neoclassical style. The reaction against Rococo started in about 1750 in France. The curator of the King's drawings, Nicolas Cochin, who had spent two years in Italy,  was put in charge of the redecoration of the royal chateaux and was highly critical of the Rococo style. In 1768, Jean-Francois de Neuffroge published a book about architecture that was also clearly against Rococo, and in the same year Jean-Charles Delafosse, a designer and architect, published a book containing designs for handmade furniture and ornaments in the Transitional style.

A Hybrid Style

Transitional pieces usually incorporate features of both Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture. The sinuous Louis XV style gradually gave way to the rectilinear shapes, tapering lines, and restrained decoration of the Neoclassical style. Transitional commodes were rectangular in shape, rather than curved, but they still had short, cabriole legs, like Louis XV commodes. The most characteristic example of the Transitional style was the breakfront commode. This retained the swelling, serpentine shape of earlier forms, but the central front facade protruded. Chairs no longer had curved, but oval backs and cabriole legs were replaced by straight, fluted legs.

The decoration of Transitional fitted and non fitted furniture also combined elements of both the Rococo and Neoclassical styles. Some motifs harked back to the Louis XIV style, and features acanthus leaves, gadroons, palmettes, lion masks, and trophies. Floral designs, proliferated under Louis XV and were still used on Transitional pieces. As the influence of Neoclassicism grew, Greek key motifs, interlaces scrolls, and parquetry became more common.

Eminent Cabinet-Makers

The cabinet-maker Louis Joseph Le Lorain furnished the Paris town house of Lalive de Jully, who was highly influential at the French Court, with furniture, inspired by the Greek style. Under the influence of Madame de Pompadour, the King's personal office was decorated completely in the Transitional style, with furniture made by Jean-Francois Oeben in 1760 and Jean-Henri Riesener in 1769.