French Commode Table, from Chippendale Drawings, Vol. II
Medium
Black ink, gray wash
Dimensions
sheet: 8 1/4 x 13 5/16 in. (21 x 33.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.40.2(55)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of 18th-century English furniture design with Thomas Chippendale's *French Commode Table*, meticulous drawing from 1753 featured in *Chippendale Drawings,. II*. Chippendale, a master cabinetmaker whose seminal 1754 publication *The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker Director* revolutionized the trade, captured here the opulent French commode style—a low chest of drawers supported on cabriole legs, blending Rococo flourishes with practical elegance. Created amid Britain's growing fascination with Continental luxury, this design reflects how Chippendale adapted lavish French...
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...