E-19: French Dining Room of the Louis XIV Period, 1660-1700
c. 1937
Medium
Miniature room, mixed media
Dimensions
Interior, Scale 1 inch = 1 foot: 43.2 × 67.4 × 55 cm (17 × 26 1/2 × 21 5/8 in.)
Classification
miniature
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
43748
Art Historical Context
Narcissa Niblack Thorne’s miniature French Dining Room captures the grandeur of the Louis XIV era (1660–1700) in exquisite detail. Created around 1937 at a precise one-inch-to-one-foot scale, the room showcases the opulent Baroque style favored during the reign of the Sun King, when French interiors emphasized symmetry, rich ornamentation, and luxurious materials to reflect royal power and cultural refinement. Thorne, an American artist renowned for her series of historically accurate miniature rooms, used mixed media to replicate period paneling, furniture, and decorative elements with remar...
About the Artist
Narcissa Niblack Thorne · 1882–1966
Narcissa Niblack Thorne (1882–1966) was born on May 2 in Vincennes, Indiana, the eldest child of William Niblack and Frances Caldwell Niblack. Her family relocated to Chicago during her childhood, where she received a patchwork education: homeschooled by a governess, public schooling from age eleven, private classes, and finishing at the elite Kenwood Institute in Hyde Park. Extensive family trave...