Fire Screens, in Chippendale Drawings, Vol. I
Medium
Black ink, gray ink and gray wash
Dimensions
sheet: 7 13/16 x 11 11/16 in. (19.8 x 29.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.40.1(29)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Chippendale's *Fire Screens, in Chippendale Drawings,. I* (1754) offers a glimpse into the elegant world of 18th English design. As a leading furniture maker and innovator, Chippendale published his seminal *Gentleman and Cabinetaker's Director* that year, a pattern book that revolutionized interior decoration for Britain's elite. This drawing, featuring ornate fire screens—freestanding panels that shielded against hearth heat while adding decorative flair—exemplifies his rococo-inspired style, blending intricate floral motifs, leafy scrolls, and graceful human figures into harmonious c...
About the Artist
Thomas Chippendale · 1718–1779
Thomas Chippendale, baptized on June 5, 1718, in Otley, Yorkshire, was born into a family steeped in woodworking traditions, the only child of joiner John Chippendale and Mary Drake. His father likely provided his initial hands-on training in cabinetmaking, supplemented by time in the workshop of York joiner Richard Wood, before Chippendale relocated to London around 1749. He married Catherine Red...