Secretary Cabinet
c. 1775
Medium
Walnut veneered with various woods and gilt-bronze mounts
Dimensions
257.9 × 152.1 × 62 cm (101 1/2 × 59 7/8 × 24 3/8 in.)
Classification
furniture
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
80089
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
David Roentgen was a German craftsman and entrepreneur who made furniture for some of the grandest patrons in Europe, including Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Marie Antoinette of France. A brilliant artist in marquetry, Roentgen employed twenty varieties of wood in this desk, including American black walnut, which European craftsmen first began using at just this time. The desk’s form is inspired by a design for a desk and bookcase in the English furniture ma...
About the Artist
David Roentgen · 1743–1807
German, Herrnhaag 1743–1807 Wiesbaden, master 1780