Pierre-Antoine Bellangé (1757–1827) was a French '' ébéniste'' (

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...

) working in

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 ...

. Bellangé held an eminent position among the representatives of the decorative arts at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He gained his master craftsman title on October 24, 1788. Among his work from this time were four chairs in

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 ...

described as being "of the Gothic type" that he created for Count Esterhazy. Bellangé was designated several times as arbitrator or expert in trials brought before the tribunal of commerce. At the end of 1811, he became the "Imperial Furniture Warehouse." Suites of furniture by Bellangé were provided for many European courts including the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. Bellange's work is often classified as Empire Style a reference to the First French Empire under Napoleon I. Motifs included swans favored by

Napoleon's 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 ...

first wife

Joséphine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Count ...

, honeybees (a symbol for Napoleon), laurel branches,

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

s, and Roman eagles. Bellangé's furniture often showcases the dense grain of mahogany, combined with gilded bronze or carved and gilded relief decoration. His highest style court furniture was built of gilded beech and upholstered in silk

lampas Lampas is a type of luxury fabric with a background weft (a "ground weave") typically in taffeta with supplementary wefts (the "pattern wefts") laid on top and forming a design, sometimes also with a " brocading weft". Lampas is typically woven i ...

fabrics in saturated colors, often with a gold jacquard pattern of medallions, eagles, or the arms of the court or family the piece was manufactured for. In 1817 President James Monroe purchased a suite of furniture for the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, which was made famous in

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

's TV tour of the White House. The furniture is in the Blue Room.Klein, Betsy
White House furniture finds nouveau life in the Blue Room
''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

'', September 22, 2018. He also produced furniture 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 ...

at Saint-Cloud, for the Tuileries, Joséphine's Château de Malmaison, and also for his brother

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

. Examples of his work can be seen at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

and

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

in England. The set of furniture, property of the Yuko Nii Foundation, in the Treasure Room of the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is of the period when Napoleon was emperor, around 1810, and has the swan motif favored by Josephine, his first wife. It is entirely possible that this set was made for one of Napoleon's or Josephine's rooms. Bellangé kept the same functions under the reign of

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

, during which he furnished the Saint-Ouen pavilion. He was assigned by Charles X to the Director General of the Royal Furnitur. His son Louis-Alexandre (1796-1861) was appointed by Louis-Philippe "Cabinet Maker to the King".

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellange Furniture designers from Paris French furniture makers French decorative artists 1757 births 1827 deaths