The French Louis XV writing desk, also known as a Bureau en Pente, made by Cabinetmaker Jacques Dubois in circa 1750s. It is decorated with Japanese lacquer and "vernis Martin", which is a type of lacquerwork that brothers Guillaume and Etienne-Simon Martin introduced in the 1700s. Ease and elegance are characteristics of Louis XV furniture, which is reflected in the curved cabriole legs and the richly detailed decorations in the lacquerwork and the gilded bronze fittings.
Jacques Dubois was a master cabinetmaker of the 18th century. He was born in Pontoise on 7th of april, 1694 and died in 1763. He was not only cabinetmaker to King Louis XV, he also worked for the King’s daughter, princess Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Parma, as well as the Duke of Orleans and several nobilities of the time.
Dubois probably learned the craft in the workshop of his half-brother, Nöel Gérard, an important cabinetmaker and dealer of the 1720s and 1730s. Dubois did not become a master until relatively late in his career, at the age of forty-eight. The inventory made after his death reveals a large workshop with a varied range of production including secrétaires, writing desks, pedestals, and clocks, decorated with floral marquetry or with Chinese or Japanese lacquer.
Dubois fully mastered the Louis XV-style of exclusive furniture pieces. He was a specialist in varnishes and lacquers, where he often reused furniture elements from the Far East. Especially Chinese and Japanese lacquers were very popular during the 18th century. The Marchands-Merciers (dealers) of the time would import chests and screens from the Far East. Instead of selling them, they had the idea of breaking them up in order to use the lacquer panels in Western furniture.
The dealers would supply the lacquer panels to the cabinetmakers, who then had the task of mounting them on pieces of furniture. Dubois appears to have worked regularly for the Marchands-Merciers, producing several pieces of furniture with lacquer veneers in very high quality. For that purpose he also produced delicately made bronze fittings, which he applied to the furniture in order to create a beautiful coherence between the different elements.
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You can adjust the intensity of the shadows beneath the desk by selecting the face of the shadow and lowering the transparency to your liking.
Land impact is 3 for the size of 1.32m of height.
Number of triangles: 51735
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