Design for a Chair Seat Cover
ca. 1850–70
Medium
Pen and ink and watercolor
Dimensions
5 9/16 x 5 11/16 in. (14.2 x 14.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Rieder, 2009
Accession Number
2009.465.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Design for a Chair Seat*, created by an anonymous French artist around 1850–70, captures the ornate spirit of mid-19th decorative arts. Rendered in pen and ink with watercolor on a modest 5 9/16 x 5 11/16-inch sheet, it features intricate floral and leaf motifs—hallmarks of the era's love for nature-inspired embellishment. Such preparatory drawings were essential tools for artisans, guiding the production of luxurious upholstery for bourgeois homes during France's Second Empire under Napoleon III. The work exemplifies the period's revival of historic styles, blending Rococo flo...
About the Artist
Anonymous, French, 19th century · 1800–1900
**Anonymous, French, 19th Century (ca. 1800–1900)** The artist cataloged as Anonymous, French, 19th century embodies the enigmatic yet essential contributions of unidentified creators to France's vibrant 19th-century art world. Active roughly between 1800 and 1900, this figure—or potentially collective workshop—produced a diverse array of works amid the nation's transition from Neoclassicism thro...