Seventeenth-century interior decoration in England, France, and Holland / Peter Thornton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thornton, Peter, 1925-2007, author.

Contributor:

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.

Yale University Press, publisher.

Series:

Studies in British art (Unnumbered)

Studies in British art

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Interior decoration--England--History--17th century.

Interior decoration.

Interior decoration--France--History--17th century.

Interior decoration--Netherlands--History--17th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 427 pages) : 339 illustrations (some color)

Edition:

2nd print. (with corrections).

Other Title:

17th-century interior decoration in England, France, and Holland

Place of Publication:

New Haven ; London : Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art by Yale University Press, 1981.

Summary:

"This is the first book to survey and analyze the development of European interior decoration in France, England, and Holland following the stimulus of the Italian Renaissance while relating it to the changes in the political structure and social habits of the landed classes at the end of the sixteenth century. Working from surviving examples of the furniture and decoration of the period, and making full use of engraved and painted records, inventories, and other documentary evidence, Peter Thornton investigates and explains the role and intentions of the architect, the upholsterer, and the furniture-maker in the creation of the fashionable interior. He emphasizes that during the seventeenth century it was often through the personal supervision of the interior decoration of a great house by its owner that a hitherto unknown degree of comfort and unity of design came to prevail. The arrangement and decoration of the rooms, their furnishings and hangings, paneling and carpeting, lighting and sanitation are all discussed in detail with due attention being given to the designers and craftsmen concerned and the materials and techniques used"--Publisher's description.

Contents:

France and Aristocratic Fashion

The Spread of the French Ideal

The Architectural Framework

The Upholsterer's Task

The Upholsterer's Materials

The Upholsterer's Furnishings

Beds, Cloths of Estate and Couches

Upholstered Seat-furniture

Tables and Cup-boards

Other Furniture and Decorative Features

Lighting

Specific Rooms and Their Decoration.

Notes:

Description based on print version record and online resource (A&AePortal, viewed on May 1, 2026).

ISBN:

0-300-30348-3

OCLC:

1588480955