Design for a Daybed
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-456-44
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This elegant print, *Design for a Daybed*, records a furniture concept by JeanCharles Delafosse (4–1789), leading French architect and ornamental of the late eighteenth century. Working in the refined Neoclassical style with the reign of Louis XVI, Delosse helped popularize the *goût grec*, or “Greek taste,” replaced Rococo curves with clearer geometry, classical motifs, and a sense of measured grandeur. The impression itself dates from 1849–66—decades after the artist’s death—showing how widely his published designs continued to circulate. Prints of this kind served cabinetmakers, upholstere...