Fire screen (écran)
Medium
Carved, gilded and silvered beech; 18th-century silk brocade (not original to frame)
Dimensions
H. 42 x W. 26-3/4 x D. 16-1/4 in. (106.7 x 67.9 x 41.3 cm)
Classification
Woodwork-Furniture
Culture
French, Paris
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1971
Accession Number
1971.206.16
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant fire screen, or *écran*, was created around 1786 in Paris during the final years of the French monarchy. Crafted by celebrated menuisier Georges Jacob in collaboration with textile designer Philippe de Lasalle, it exemplifies the refined taste of late-eighteenth-century French interiors. Fire screens served both practical and decorative purposes, shielding sitters from the direct heat of a fireplace while adding sculptural beauty to a room. The carved, gilded, and silvered beech frame showcases Jacob’s masterful woodworking, its delicate neoclassical lines reflecting the period’s ...
About the Artist
Philippe de Lasalle|Georges Jacob · 1723–1804
Philippe de Lasalle (1723–1804) was born on September 2 in the small town of Seyssel in the Ain department of France, the son of a local finance official. Orphaned at just one year old, he was raised by relatives and moved to Lyon at age fourteen to live with an uncle. There, he began his artistic training as an apprentice to the painter Daniel Sarrabat, a prominent Lyonnais figure known for instr...