Martin Carlin
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Martin Carlin (c. 1730–1785) was a Parisian ''
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 ...
'' ( cabinet-maker), born at
Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
, who was received as Master ''Ébéniste'' at Paris on 30 July 1766. Renowned for his "graceful furniture mounted with
Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...
porcelain", Carlin fed into the luxury market of eighteenth-century decorative arts, where porcelain-fitted furniture was considered among "the most exquisite furnishings" within the transitional and neoclassical styles. Carlin's furniture was popular amongst the main great dealers, including Poirier, Daguerre, and Darnault, who sold his furniture to Marie Antoinette and many amongst the social elite class. He died on 6 March 1785.


Work life

Carlin worked at first in the shop of
Jean-François Oeben Jean-François Oeben, or Johann Franz Oeben (9 October 1721 Heinsberg near Aachen – Paris 21 January 1763) was a German ébéniste (cabinetmaker) whose career was spent in Paris. He was the maternal grandfather of the painter Eugène Delacroix. ...
, whose sister he married. The marriage contract reveals that "Carlin was still a day-worker living on the quai des Célestins". Yet soon after Oeben's death, Carlin started to sell furniture to the marchands-merciers when setting up independently in the
Faubourg Saint-Antoine The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was one of the traditional suburbs of Paris, France. It grew up to the east of the Bastille around the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, and ran along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Location The Faubourg Saint-An ...
. This was however an unfashionable quarter of Paris, where few of his wealthy clientele would have penetrated. Therefore, Carlin found it necessary to sell his works exclusively to '' marchands-merciers'' such as Simon-Philippe PoirierOther ''ébénistes'' working for Poirier were
Roger Vandercruse Lacroix Roger Vandercruse Lacroix (1728–1799), often known as Roger Vandercruse, was a Parisian ''ébéniste'' whose highly refined furniture spans the rococo and the early neoclassical styles. According to Salverte, he "is counted among the great ebe ...
and Bernard II van Risamburgh
and his partner Dominique Daguerre, who acted as decorative-designers. It was only through these entrepreneurs that Carlin could acquire the Sèvres porcelain plaques that decorated many of his pieces. His earliest such pieces can be dated by the marks on their porcelain to 1766; they followed designs supplied by the dealer Poirier. The great dealers also possessed an expansive network of the monarchy and much of the nobility, and thus sold Carlin's furniture to figures such as, Marie Antoinette, the comte de Provence, the comte d'Artois, Louis XV's daughters, the mesdames de France, Madame du Barry, and the duchesse de Mazarin. For 12 years after becoming Master Ebéniste, he made porcelain-mounted furniture for Poirier and after 1778, he fed into the popular taste for exotic, 'oriental' designs and materials, and therefore started to produce sumptuous pieces in Japanese lacquer.


Collection

Although Martin Carlin made some larger pieces— ''secrétaires à abattant'' (drop-front secretary desks), tables, and commodes— he is best known for refined small furnishings in the neoclassical taste, some of them veneered with cut up panels of
Chinese lacquer ''Toxicodendron vernicifluum'' (formerly ''Rhus verniciflua''), also known by the common name Chinese lacquer tree, is an Asian tree species of genus ''Toxicodendron'' native to China and the Indian subcontinent, and cultivated in regions of C ...
, which he would also have received from the hands of the ''marchands-merciers''.


Bonheur du jour (Table à gradin dite)

:*Bonheur du jour, 1765,
Bowes Museum The Bowes Museum is an art gallery in the town of Barnard Castle, in County Durham in northern England. It was built to designs by Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson to house the art collection of John Bowes and his wife Joséphine Beno ...
, UK :*Bonheur du jour, 1766,
Musée Nissim de Camondo The Musée Nissim de Camondo is a historic house museum of French decorative arts located in the Hôtel Camondo at 63, rue de Monceau, on the edge of Parc Monceau, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. The nearest Paris Métro stops are ...
, France :*Bonheur du jour, 1768,
Boughton House Boughton House is a country house in the parish of Weekley in Northamptonshire, England, situated about north-east of Kettering. It is situated within an estate of . The present house was built by Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (d.1709), ...
, UK :*Bonheur du jour, 1768, delivered to the Comtesse du Barry,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, United States :*Bonheur du jour, 1769,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, United States :*Bonheur du jour, 1770,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, United States :*Bonheur du jour, 1770,
The Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Ma ...
, United States :*Bonheur du jour, 1771,
The Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Ma ...
, United States :*Bonheur du jour, 1774,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, United States


Bureau plat (Writing table)

:*Bureau plat, 1778, delivered to the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna and Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia for the Palace of Pavlosk,
Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
, United States


Cabinet

:*Cabinet, c. 1783, Royal Collection, UK


Coffret à bijoux

:*Coffret à bijoux, 1770, delivered to Marie-Antoinette for the Petit Triannon,
Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed ...
, France :*Coffret à bijoux, c. 1770, delivered to the Comtesse du Barry,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, United States :*Coffret à bijoux, c. 1774, delivered to the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna and Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia for the Palace of Pavlosk, The Detroit Institute of Arts, United States :*Coffret à bijoux, c. 1775,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, United States Coffret à bijoux, c. 1775,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, United States


Commode à vantaux (Commode with doors)

:*Commode à vantaux, c. 1778, inset with Pietra Dure panels (one of Carlin's greatest examples), Royal Collection, UK


Encoignure (Corner cabinet)

:*Pair of ''Encoignures'', 1772,
Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along ...
, UK


Music-stand

:
Music-stand and writing table
c. 1775,
Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation ...
, UK :*Music-stand, 1770-75,
Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
, United States


Music-stand and writing-table

:*Music-stand and writing-table, 1786, given by Marie-Antoinette to Mrs William Eden (later Lady Auckland), V&A, UK


Reading stand

:*Reading stand, c. 1780, V&A, UK


Secrétaire

:*Secrétaire, 1775,
Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
, United States :*Secrétaire, 1776,
Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along ...
, UK :*Secrétaire, 1776-77,
Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
, United States


Secrétaire à abattant

:
Secrétaire à abattant
1776,
Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation ...
, UK :*Secrétaire à abattant, 1770-80, V&A, UK


Table à ouvrage

:*Table à ouvrage, 1770. delivered to the duchesse de Mazarin in 1779 for her dressing room,
Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
, United States :*Table à ouvrage, 1773,
Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
, United States :*Table à ouvrage, 1775, V&A, UK :*Table à ouvrage, 1783-84,
Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along ...
, UK :*Table à ouvrage, 1786, given by Marie-Antoinette to Mrs William Eden (later Lady Auckland), V&A, UK


See also

* Louis XVI furniture


Notes


References

*Svend Eriksen, ''Early Neo-Classicism in France'' pp 159 (bio.)


Further reading

* (see index: p. 127-128; illustrations: p. 28, 50, 60–61)


External links


(Getty Museum): Martin Carlin
* ttp://www.dia.org/object-info/47c2cd72-d30b-494c-a27d-40645fe8950e.aspx?position=1 (Detroit Institute of Arts) Jewel Cabinet, about 1774, accession #71.196br>(Royal Collection) Commode
ca 1778, with panels of
pietra dura ''Pietra dura'' () or ''pietre dure'' () ( see below), called parchin kari or parchinkari ( fa, ) in the Indian Subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images. It is c ...
.
(Waddesdon Manor): Martin CarlinYouTube, Combined music stand and writing table made by Martin Carlin, 1775
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlin, Martin French furniture makers 1730s births 1785 deaths Waddesdon Manor