VI.

Decorative Arts

The Neo-Classical style pervaded almost every aspect of the decorative arts. By the early 1760s furniture with Graeco-Roman motifs was being made by Robert Adam. Introduced into France, his simple, classical style became known as the style étrusque (Etruscan style), and was favoured by the court of Louis XV. With further adaptations of Classical design, based on later archaeological finds, it evolved into the elegant style known as Louis XVI, favoured by the royal family during the 1780s. In ceramics the Neo-Classical style was seen in Wedgwood jasperware (for which Flaxman executed many designs) in England and in Sèvres porcelain in France.

Under Napoleon I, former royal residences were redecorated for official use according to plans devised by Percier and Fontaine and filled with furniture, porcelain, and tapestries all incorporating Graeco-Roman design and motifs. Taken as a whole, such interiors defined the Neo-Classical style in the decorative arts, and it was soon emulated throughout Europe.