Georges Jacob (6 July 1739 – 5 July 1814) was one of the two most prominent

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

ian master ''menuisiers''. He produced carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the Neoclassical style that is associated with

Louis XVI furniture Louis XVI furniture is characterized by elegance and neoclassicism, a return to ancient Greek and Roman models. Much of it was designed and made for Queen Marie Antoinette for the new apartments she created in the Palace of Versailles, Palace ...

Life and career

Jacob was born in Cheny, Burgundy. He arrived in Paris in 1754 and was apprenticed to the chairmaker Jean-Baptiste Lerouge where he met

Louis Delanois Louis Delanois (1731–1792) was a Parisian ''menuisier'' who specialized in seat furniture in the late Rococo taste and an advanced neoclassicism, neoclassical taste. Among his notable patrons were mme du Barry, the comte d'Artois, brother of th ...

, whose advanced neoclassical taste was to have a great influence on Jacob. He was received master 4 September 1765, presenting for his masterpiece a small chair of gilded wood, which survives. Without marrying either the daughter or the widow of an established ''menuisier'',Jacob married in 1767 Jeanne-Germaine Loyer with whom he had five children. Jacob set up his own premises. He employed in his workshop numerous specialist carvers and gilders. In 1785, Jacob produced the first

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

chairs ''à l'anglaise'', for the

comte de Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

. After Delanois' early death in 1792, Jacob's only serious rival in his field was Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené. He retired in 1796, leaving his workshop in the hands of his sons, one of whom was

François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter François-Honoré-Georges Jacob-Desmalter (1770–1841) oversaw one of the most successful and influential furniture workshops in Paris, from 1796 to 1825. The son of Georges Jacob, an outstanding chairmaker who worked in the Louis XVI style and ...

. When his other son died, Jacob returned from retirement to oversee the constant supply of furnishings for

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's residences. His descendant Hector Lefuel, son of the architect

Hector Lefuel Hector-Martin Lefuel (14 November 1810 – 31 December 1880) was a French architect, best known for his work on the Palais du Louvre, including Napoleon III's Louvre expansion and the reconstruction of the Pavillon de Flore. Biography He was ...

, wrote the monograph, ''Georges Jacob'' (Paris, 1923). Two models in beeswax attributed to Jacob, one for a

fauteuil A ''fauteuil'' () is a style of open-armchair with a primarily exposed wooden frame originating in France during the early 17th century. A ''fauteuil'' is made of wood and frequently with carved relief ornament. It is typically upholstered on ...

and one for a bed 'à la turque', have remained in the family's possession.

Gallery

File:ChairPhoto1369.JPG, A giltwood neoclassical chair, made circa 1775 and signed by Jacob File:Fauteuil Jacob cabinet méridienne Versailles.jpg, Armchair by Jacob in the Château de Versailles (1781) File:Boudoir.jpg, Boudoir

Notes

References

Getty Museum – Georges Jacob

* ''Le siège français'' by Madeleine Jarry & Pierre Devinoy (excellent source material on Georges Jacob, his descendants and his business)

Life and career

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Further reading