Design for a Commode and Console (Plate 10), in Collection de Meubles et Objets de Goût, vol. 1

Design for a Commode and Console (Plate 10), in Collection de Meubles et Objets de Goût, vol. 1

Pierre de La Mésangère

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

La Mésangère's serially published Collection de meubles et objets de goût premiered in 1802 and provided a significant outlet for the dissemination of French fashion in the early nineteenth century. The journal contains illustrations of luxury items that would have been found in the hôtels of the wealthy Parisian bourgeoisie, including the latest wares of accomplished ébénistes. As can be seen by comparing this image to the Winterthur Museum's labeled pier table (1961.1693), Lannuier appears to have turned to La Mésangère for inspiration.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for a Commode and Console (Plate 10), in Collection de Meubles et Objets de Goût, vol. 1Design for a Commode and Console (Plate 10), in Collection de Meubles et Objets de Goût, vol. 1Design for a Commode and Console (Plate 10), in Collection de Meubles et Objets de Goût, vol. 1Design for a Commode and Console (Plate 10), in Collection de Meubles et Objets de Goût, vol. 1Design for a Commode and Console (Plate 10), in Collection de Meubles et Objets de Goût, vol. 1

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.