Pierre Roussel (1723 - 7 June 1782) was a successful but somewhat pedestrian cabinetmaker (''

ébéniste ''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiva ...

'') of

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 ...

. He was joined in his extensive business by his two sons, Pierre-Michel (master in 1766) and Pierre le jeune (master in 1771). Roussel's stamp, with its

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

between the P and ROUSSEL, is often seen, but such quantities of goods made by others, both new and old, passed through the shop, and so much cabinetwork from Roussel's workshop was sold and stamped by other ''marchands-ébénistes'', that it is not easy to recognize any consistent sequence of characteristic styles, characteristic constructions, gilt-bronze mounts unique to his shop or marquetry. Consequently Roussel is often credited with a wide-ranging stylistic approach. The elder Roussel's father was a simple ''compagnon'', a journeyman cabinetmaker working for a master ''ébéniste''. Four of Roussel's brothers were '' menuisiers'', working on carved seat furniture and room paneling. He married Marie-Antoinette Fontaine in 1743 and was received as a master cabinetmaker in the Paris guild, 21 August 1745. From modest beginnings, by the 1760s Roussel worked himself to the top of his profession: he was appointed a ''juré'' in 1762 and by 1780 and had held other offices in the

Corporation des Menuisiers-Ébénistes The Corporation des Menuisiers-Ébénistes was a French craft guild which was concerned with the profession of woodmaking. References Guilds in France {{france-stub ...

. Among his grand later patrons was the

Prince de Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, who made considerable purchases for the

Palais Bourbon The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the ''Rive Gauche'' of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concor ...

and the

Château de Chantilly The Château de Chantilly () is a historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmor ...

between 1775 and 1780. At the time of his death, the inventory was compiled by a noted ''ébéniste'',

Jean-François Leleu Jean-François Leleu (1729 - 1807) was a leading French furniture-maker (ébéniste) of the eighteenth century who was trained alongside his rival Jean-Henri Riesener, in the workshop of Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763). After his master's death, ...

and Jean-Baptiste Cochois. There were at least three workshops, a store-room (''magasin'') and a retail shop (''boutique''). A number of pieces were lacquered, and six lacquer panels and marquetry was mentioned, geometric, floral and landscape. There were also marble tops, and a stock of veneers. Roussel was able to give his four daughters dowries and marry them successfully into the solid bourgeoisie. Roussel's son Pierre-Michel established himself as a furniture dealer in fashionable rue St-Honoré. Pierre II Roussel, "le jeune" inherited the family shop from his mother, who had continued to run it after her husband's death, using the same stamp, but in 1792 he closed it, to deal exclusively in exotic timbers and veneers.Watson 1966.557.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roussel, Pierre French furniture makers Artists from Paris 1723 births 1782 deaths French furniture designers