Framing: An Evolution in Styles!

Chers Amis de L’Ecole du Bon Goût, The framing of works of art had its beginnings with the contiguous raised moldings at the edges of Gothic paintings on wood panels and continued an evolution in the centuries to come, following the tenants of the styles of the day.

Sometimes the frame became almost as important as the artwork contained within it! See here photos tracing the evolution of bois dore frames from the late 17th century to the early 19th century in France. You will see that just like the furniture styles oscillated back and forth from tailored to complex and back again, the styles of frames followed this oscillation.

Today in my atelier in Uzés, I have about 100 empty frames ranging in age from the early 17th century all the way through to the beginning of the 20th century because when I have an art work to frame I want it to be in a frame of its period. One exception to this is modern photographs and portraits which I like to see in antique frames that work to harmonize with the image and its future location. Portraits of family members framed in antique frames will harmonize beautifully with traditional interior decors.

Besides the photos here tracing the framing evolution, see a selection of just some of the frames arriving in the July shipment of French antiques.

Remember to save the date of Sunday July 26 and time of 10 am to 4 pm for a reception here at Au Vieux Paris Antiques. We have much to celebrate!

Mes Amitiés,
Robert E. Smith

Please visit the website at www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

See following a selection of just some of the frames arriving in the July shipment here at Au Vieux Paris

Visit the Au Vieux Paris Antiques homepage (click here)
Browse a sampling of the merchandise available (click here)

Mes amitiés,
Robert E. Smith   (337) 332-2852
www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

Containers : Functional ??? or Decorative Creations ???

Bonjour chers amis de L’Ecole du Bon Goût! In our lives today, as well as those of our ancestors, all the way back to the cave, we have utilized “containers” of a wide array of forms, functions and materials.

Some containers at their creation were intended to be works of decorative art in themselves while others were considered at the time of their making by their creators to just be a “functional” item for daily use. However two hundred years later this latter category of “just functional” containers definitely becomes quite decoratively interesting to the eyes of our now distant time zone! Because our modern world is bereft of hand made items of natural materials, a simple terre cuite pitcher or a very “imperfect” blown glass bocal from this other time and taste zone has great eye appeal for us today.

See following a selection of just some of the many “containers” coming in the July shipment which are both functional and decorative even if the original creator didn’t think so!

Please save the date of Sunday, the 26th of July, to attend a reception here at Au Vieux Paris which will celebrate not only the arrival of this new shipment of French antiques but also the 40th year anniversarie of the arrival at this site of the Henri Penne House, c.1820, in which the shop is housed!

Mes Amitiés,
Robert E. Smith

If you can not visit in person, please visit the website at www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

Visit the Au Vieux Paris Antiques homepage (click here)
Browse a sampling of the merchandise available (click here)

Mes amitiés,
Robert E. Smith (337) 332-2852

http://www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

The fireplace, still interesting without a fire!

Chers Amis de L’Ecole du Bon Goût, Bonjour!! The fireplace hearth may not be where your eyes are naturally drawn in the middle of the summer, but even a fireless hearth can be a focal point of decorative interest given the right accessories.

Every fireplace hearth previous to the twentieth century's use of “fire bricks” came equipped with a cast “pig iron” fireback which both protected the soft bricks of the rear wall and also functioned to radiate the heat from the fire into the room.

The French craftsmen who made them could not resist making them decorative works of art. Using a “sand casting” method, the decorative possibilities were endless but most often used mythological and architectural motifs, or the name of the commissioner of the “plaque de cheminée”, the year it was created, or Christian and secret Cathar symbols.

On my spring buying trip in Provence, I was fortunate to collect 7 very interesting firebacks as well as three pairs of the best and largest hand wrought iron 17th c andirons I have ever had come my way. These “pyrotechnic accoutrements”, added to the current stock here, makes possible choices for your fireplace giving it as much interest in the summer as in the winter season.

The new container of antiques is at sea today but will be arriving in July, so please plan a visit to the shop in person or visit our website at www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

Mes Amitiés,
Robert E. Smith

Visit the Au Vieux Paris Antiques homepage (click here)
Browse a sampling of the merchandise available (click here)

Mes amitiés,
Robert E. Smith   (337) 332-2852
http://www.auvieuxparisantiques.com

BEAUTY REALLY MATTERS!! AFTER 8 YEARS!

Chers Amis de L’Ecole du Bon Goût,

This week marks the 8 year anniversarie of L’Ecole du Bon Goût!

What this “blog” is really about is valuing “beauty” and how to create it in our lives. I firmly believe “beauty” does in fact matter very much. I feel it needs to be an important aspect of our food, our interior environments at home and at work, our exterior architecture, our landscape settings, our acoustical environment, and on and on....!!

Today I feel it would be best to make choices 24/7 to avoid non nourishing “beauty-less” experiences, ( Think: traffic jams at 5:00 pm in a commercial zone! ) and choose nurturing experiences where “beauty” is a key element. ( Think: a great movie, music concert, or hopefully your own home and garden.)

Louise Haye said long ago: “Beauty has a healing power all its own!” and she is someone who knows about health and healing!

One can often see how Mother Nature uses “beauty” in the “survival of the fittest” game, which in many cases looks more like the “survival of the most beautiful”. (Think about peacocks, butterflies, roseate spoonbills, and orchids! Here the very intensity of visual “beauty” promotes the survival of that species.)

So to commemorate the past 8 years of the valuing and the creating of “beauty” in the various L’Ecole du Bon Goût blogs, see following, some photographs of “beauty” in various modes. If this inspires you to add some antique “beauty” into your world, please visit the shop here in Breaux Bridge or visit the web site at www.auvieuxparisantiques.com and see the many opportunities to beautify!

Mes Amitiés,
Robert E. Smith

Visit the Au Vieux Paris Antiques homepage (click here)
Browse a sampling of the merchandise available (click here)

Mes amitiés,
Robert E. Smith   (337) 332-2852
http://www.auvieuxparisantiques.com