E-24: French Salon of the Louis XVI Period, c. 1780
c. 1937
Medium
Miniature room, mixed media
Dimensions
Interior, Scale 1 inch = 1 foot: 38.1 × 52.1 × 43.2 cm (15 × 20 1/2 × 17 in.)
Classification
miniature
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
43764
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Mrs. Thorne designed this interior “entirely in the spirit of Marie Antoinette—dainty in coloring and full of her symbols of design.” The queen was fond of roses, which were often incorporated into the molded decorations of swags, garlands, and baskets in rooms such as this one. The garden tools and musical instruments in the carvings of the panel heads represent her love of nature and music. Speaking of the Petit Trianon, whose private rooms inspired this salon, Mrs. Thorne wrote, “Nothing coul...
About the Artist
Narcissa Niblack Thorne · 1882–1966
Narcissa Niblack Thorne (1882–1966) was born on May 2 in Vincennes, Indiana, the eldest child of William Niblack and Frances Caldwell Niblack. Her family relocated to Chicago during her childhood, where she received a patchwork education: homeschooled by a governess, public schooling from age eleven, private classes, and finishing at the elite Kenwood Institute in Hyde Park. Extensive family trave...