WARDROBE. 18TH CENTURY

Wardrobe from the first half of the 18th century. Oak and walnut woods. Wardrobe made of oak and walnut, decorated with profuse carving and moulding. With an architectural structure inspired by contemporary Baroque architecture, it is organised into two rows and three registers, and is finished at the top by a projecting cornice with a central sinuous pediment. The entire structure appears rigorously organised by regular straight lines, which emphasise the differentiation of each of the different parts of the structure, following a clearly classical criterion, typical of the Baroque even in its most ornamental aspects, according to which the decoration must always adapt to the structure, without ever going beyond it, so that the main lines of the latter are perfectly legible, as well as the relationship of proportion and balance of the parts between themselves and with respect to the whole. Following this idea, we see the front divided into two sections and three registers, and the latter are continued on the sides, with moulded recesses in this case, without the carving visible on the front, although highlighted by the work of volumes and light contrasts, typically baroque, achieved through the simple use of mouldings and steps. In the lower register we see two doors, each with its lock with a shield cut out with a double fleur-de-lis. Its design is organised around a central mixtilinear recess, typically baroque, carved on the inside with a rocaille crest that already tells us about the knowledge of the rococo, although in the furniture, both at a structural and ornamental level, the baroque language still dominates. The perimeter of recesses and projections of this central recess is repeated, with increasingly complex lines, drawn on the basis of mouldings very raised with respect to the background, which provide the contrast and chiaroscuro typical of baroque furniture. Furthermore, the central area is highlighted by very bulging carvings based on vegetal scrolls, scallops and rocaille crests. The middle register, still belonging to the lower body at a visual level, houses two drawers of the same size and design, which combine diamond-pointed recesses with gilded fittings decorated by chiseling. Finally, the upper body also has two doors, like the lower one with its locks, and in fact follows an ornamental scheme similar to that of the lower doors, although more developed and with a vertical design. Here we also see rocailles and vegetalized braces, combined with a profuse molding of dynamic lines, typically baroque. As a finishing touch, under the cornice and in the central area, there appears a stepped motif that is organized around the lines of two sinuous pediments, combined with floral and classical carved motifs.

· Size: 155x76x267 cms.