Louis XIV, Louis XV & Rococo Fireplaces

Thornhill Galleries offers an impressive selection of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Rococo antique fireplaces. The French style of the 18th century perfectly encapsulates majesty and opulence. In his reign, Louis XIV sought to make Paris the center for design, and he recruited the most talented artists and artisans of the period to ensure this happened. He made a conscious effort to fund the decorative arts to ensure they represented his own supremacy. Throughout the 18th century, French chimneypieces would have been full of extravagant formality, made less severe by arabesque lines as highlights. Gilt and ormolu would often have been liberally applied to increase splendour and shine. Louis XV and Rococo fireplaces used stylised nature motifs with S and C scrolls to create a sense of movement and intimacy. They focused on the whimsical, the fantastical and the intimacy of smaller social spaces, as the salons of Paris became the centre of social life in France, rather than the opulent courts of Versailles. As such they were influenced ultimately by the aristocracy of Paris, rather than King Louis XV, who unlike his great-grandfather Louis XIV had no direct interest in patronising the decorative arts. For more info on these fireplace styles, please see below.