The Empire Style, sometimes considered the second phase of Neoclassicism, is an early-19th-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts. Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Design is used both as a Noun and a Verb. The term is often tied to the various Applied arts and Engineering (See design disciplines The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation Furniture is the Mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds, provide storage or hold objects on horizontal The decorative arts are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in Ceramic, Wood, Glass, Metal, or Textile. The visual arts are art forms that focus on the creation of works which are primarily Visual in nature such as Painting, Photography The style originated in and takes its name from the period when Napoleon I ruled France, known as the First French Empire, where it was intended to idealize Napoleon's leadership and the French state. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or An earlier phase of the style was called the Adam style in Great Britain and "Louis Seize" or Louis XVI, in France. The Adam style (or Adamesque) is a style of neoclassical Architecture and design as practised by Scottish architect Robert Adam ( See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre
The Empire style was based on aspects of the Roman Empire and its many archaeological treasures which had been rediscovered starting in the 18th century. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The preceding Louis XVI and Directoire styles employed straighter, simpler designs in comparison with the Rococo style of the 1700s. Directoire style describes a period in the decorative arts fashion and especially furniture design concurrent with the post-Revolution French Directory (November 2 1795 through Rococo is a style of 18th century French art and Interior design. Empire designs heavily influenced the American Federal style (such as the United States Capitol building), and both were forms of propaganda through architecture. Chester TownshipJPG|thumb|right|A federal style colonial home in Chester Township New Jersey]] Federal-style architecture occurred in the United States between 1780 Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people It was a style of the people, not ostentatious but sober and evenly balanced. The style was considered to have "liberated" and "enlightened" architecture just as Napoleon "liberated" the peoples of Europe with his Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des Français) is the French Civil code, established under
The Empire period was popularized by the inventive designs of Percier and Fontaine, Napoleon's architects for Malmaison. The designs drew heavily for inspiration on symbols and ornaments borrowed from the glorious ancient Greek and Roman empires. Buildings typically had simple timber frames and box-like constructions, veneered in expensive mahogany imported from the colonies. The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored wood originally the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. Biedermeier furniture also made use of ebony details, originally due to financial constraints. Ebony ( Diospyros ebenum) also known as India Ebony or Ceylon Ebony depending on its origin is a Tree in the genus Diospyros Ormolu details (gilded bronze furniture mounts and embellishments) displayed a high level of craftsmanship. Ormolu (from French or moulu, signifying gold ground or pounded is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground high-karat gold to an object in bronze
General Bernadotte, later to become King Karl Johan of Sweden and Norway, introduced the Napoleonic style to Sweden, where it became known under his own name. Charles XIV John ( Karl XIV Johan) born Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, later renamed Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (26 January 1763 &ndash 8 March 1844 The Karl Johan style remained popular in Scandinavia even as the Empire style disappeared in other parts of Europe. France paid some of its debts to Sweden in ormolu bronzes instead of money, leading to a vogue for crystal chandeliers with bronze from France and crystal from Sweden. A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights
After Napoleon lost power, the Empire style continued to be in favor for many decades, with minor adaptations. There was a revival of the style in the last half of the 19th century in France, again at the beginning of the 20th century, and again in the 1980s.
The most famous Empire-style structures in France are the grand neoclassical Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Vendome column, and La Madeleine, which were built in Paris to emulate the edifices of the Roman Empire. Place Vendôme is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine L'église de la Madeleine (more formally L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine; less formally just La Madeleine) Madeleine Church in English is a church Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The style took particular root in Imperial Russia, where it was used to celebrate the victory over Napoleon in such memorial structures as the Russian Admiralty, Kazan Cathedral, Alexander Column, and Narva Triumphal Gate. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Admiralty Board (Адмиралтейств-коллегия was a supreme body for the administration of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Russian Empire, established Kazan Cathedral or Kazanskiy Kafedralniy Sobor (Каза́нский кафедра́льный собо́р is a name of several Russian churches The Alexander Column (Алекса́ндровская коло́нна Aleksandrovskaya Kolonna) also known as Alexandrian Column (Александри́йская The Narva Triumphal Gate (На́рвские триумфа́льные воро́та was erected in the vast Narva Square (known as the Stachek Square in Soviet years Stalinist architecture is sometimes referred to as Stalin's Empire style. Stalinist architecture (also referred to as Stalin 's Empire style Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism
The style survived in Italy longer than in most of Europe, partly because of its Imperial Roman associations, partly because it was revived as a national style of architecture following the unification of Italy in 1870. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Mario Praz wrote about this style as the Italian Empire. Mario Praz ( September 6, 1896, Rome, Italy - March 23, 1982, Rome was an Italian -born Critic of In the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States, the Empire style was adapted to local conditions and gradually acquired further expression as the Egyptian Revival, Greek Revival, Biedermeier style, Regency style, and late-Federal style. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Egyptian Revival is an Architectural style that makes use of the motifs and imagery of Ancient Egypt. The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries predominantly in northern Europe and the United States In Central Europe, Biedermeier refers to work in the fields of literature music the visual arts and interior design in the period between the years 1815 ( Vienna Congress The Regency style of Architecture refers primarily to buildings built in Britain during the period in the early 19th century when George IV was Chester TownshipJPG|thumb|right|A federal style colonial home in Chester Township New Jersey]] Federal-style architecture occurred in the United States between 1780
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Napoléon's throne |
Chair from the Louvre |
Napoléon's room at Fontainebleau |
Horloge |
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Fontainebleau |
Table |
A room in Palacio Real, Madrid |
A typical detail of furniture |