Elevation of a dining room with a carved buffet and window draperies

Art Historical Context

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this 19th elevation drawing by French architects Jules-EdmondCharles Lachaise and Eugène-Pierre Gourdet offers precise glimpse into the grandeur of period interior design. Titled *Elevation of a Dining Room with a Carved Buffet and Draperies*, the work renders a formal dining space on laid paper using graphite, a medium favored for its fine lines and subtle shading that capture architectural details with remarkable clarity. The visible texture of laid paper—characterized by its chain lines—adds authenticity, evoking the drafting practices of the era. This elevation view highlights opulent elements like an intricately carved buffet, a staple of bourgeois dining rooms for displaying fine china and silver, alongside elegantly draped windows that softened light and added drama. Such drawings were essential tools for architects and designers, bridging concept to construction during France's eclectic 19th-century styles, blending neoclassicism with emerging historicism. Acquired through the Dodge Fund in 1967, it exemplifies the Met's commitment to preserving these blueprints of domestic luxury, revealing how everyday spaces aspired to palatial splendor.

About the Artist

Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise|Eugène-Pierre Gourdet · 1897–1897

Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise, born Jules Lachaise on September 2, 1836, in Paris, emerged as a prominent French painter and draughtsman specializing in lavish interior decorations during the Second Empire and beyond. Little is known about his early life and formal training, though he married Berthe Gourdet in 1866, forging a close professional partnership with her brother, the decorator Eugène-Pi...