Dictionary
Restauration style

The "Style de la restoration" (Restoration style), was the artistic style practised under the restored Bourbon monarchy in France. The restoration period began at the end of Napoleonic rule (1814 or 1815), and lasted until the July Revolution in 1830. It was classical, and consolidated the antique formal language of the Empire style. Decor and furniture became heavier, and in ornamental design, Napoleonic heroic-imperial motifs were replaced with neutral decorative forms, such as lyres, blossoms, acanthus vases, and swans. Furniture decoration was characterised by large bases, and predominantly light-coloured wood and forms. The style was developed under the patronage of the Duchesse de Berry, who was also responsible for an increase in ivory art production. The restoration style was supplanted by the Louis Philippe style, which took its name from the King (1830-48) and had a distinct historical emphasis. This new style manifested itself in furniture, and appropriated elements of the new gothic "Troubadour Style," and "New Rococo".