Nicolas Heurtaut (1720 – 1771) was a French wood carver and furniture designer. He designed many pieces of furniture for the French royal family and the bourgeoisie. His furniture can be found in museums in Europe and the United States.

Early life

Nicolas Heurtaut was born 1720 in Paris, France.Bill G.B. Pallot, ''L'art du siège au XVIIIe siècle en France'', ACR Editions, 1987, pp. 224-24

/ref> He grew up on the Neuve-de-Cléry in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, 2nd arrondissement. HIs father, Claude, was an armchair designer. He had a brother, Jacques. His paternal grandfather, Simon Heurtaut, was a Parisian

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

. He was an apprentice in his father's practice from the age of 13 to 18. He completed his training from 18 to 22, when he became a full-fledge furniture designer. He was elected as a member of the

Académie de Saint-Luc The Académie de Saint-Luc was the guild of painters and sculptors set up in Paris in 1391, and dissolved in 1776.Alfred Fierro (1996). ''Histoire et Dictionnaire de Paris''. Paris: Robert Laffont. It was set up by the Provost of Paris in 1391, a ...

on October 17, 1742.

Career

Heurtaut worked as a furniture designer from his practice on the Neuve de Cléry from 1742 to 1753. He was able to take on apprentices. He received his inheritance in 1753, and became a senior furniture designer. He designed a sofa circa 1753, which is now displayed at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. He also designed four armchairs for Martial-Louis Beaupoil de Sainte-Aulaire, bishop of Poitiers in 1755; they are now at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

.Louvre: Set of four "fauteuil à la reine" armchairs
/ref> Circa 1755, he designed an armchair, which is now at the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, USA That same year, he designed another armchair, which is now at the

J. Paul 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 fea ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Again in 1755, he designed a gilt-wood firescreen for the owners of the Château de Montmort; it was auctioned by

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

for 147,000 euros on May 5, 2015. Another armchair, owned by

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

, was donated to 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 ...

in New York City in 1906.Metropolitan Museum: Armchair
/ref> Moreover, he designed furniture for the French royal family in the

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 ...

. Heurtaut designed three armchairs, two sofas and a bed for King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

, who gave them to his mistress, the Countess de Séran.Marcus Rädecke
Christie's Video: A Pair of Louis XV Giltwood Fauteuils À La Reine by Nicolas Heurtaut
Youtube, June 11, 2014 After she moved from Paris to

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, they were moved to her Château de la Tour. In 2014, two armchairs were auctioned by

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

, and in 2016 by Sothby's. From 1760 to 1765, he designed four armchairs and three sofas for François de Bussy.The Frick Collection: Nicolas Heurtaut
/ref> They were acquired by

Maurice de Rothschild Maurice Edmond Karl de Rothschild (19 May 1881 – 4 September 1957) was a French art collector, vineyard owner, financier and politician. He was born into the Rothschild banking family of France. Early life Maurice de Rothschild was born on 19 ...

. They are now at the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the 945 Madison Avenue#2021–present: Frick Madison, Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and Europe ...

in New York City.

Personal life

He married Marie-Geneviève Destrumel, the daughter of Guillaume-Antoine Destrumel, a furniture designer, on July 22, 1772. She sold fish on the market near the rue de Bourbon in the 2nd arrondissement.

Death

He died on May 21, 1771. He was fifty-one years old. His funeral took place at Notre-Dame de Bonne-Nouvelle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heurtaut, Nicolas 1720 births 1771 deaths Furniture designers from Paris