Candelabrum (one of a pair)

Robert Joseph Auguste

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Robert-Joseph Auguste was one of the leading Parisian silversmiths working in the Neoclassical style in the latter half of the eighteenth century. In 1778, he received the title of Silversmith to the King, and in 1784 was granted lodgings in the Louvre, a privilege bestowed upon only the most favored craftsmen. He gained an international clientele, providing silver to the courts of Portugal, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, and England. These candelabra (see also 48.187.390a, b) date to an early point in Auguste's career, and they reflect a robust and architectural Neoclassicism in their style. The Neoclassicism of the last two decades of the eighteenth century was often characterized by a highly refined and restrained elegance, with spare decoration. The emerging Neoclassical style of the 1760s usually employed bolder and more sculptural motifs drawn from classical architecture, as can be seen in these candelabra.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art