| | |  | Interior Design Books | Home » » Chinoiserie | | | | | | | Description: | | It was in the 17th century that myths of exotic "Cathay" began to be replaced by more definite knowledge of things Chinese, through the activities of English and Dutch traders. In the 18th century, however, the taste for designs and architecture based on ideas of Chinese design - "Chinoiserie" - became highly fashionable in the French court, and in its many imitators throughout Europe. Ever since, Chinoiserie has been a factor in the decorative arts and interiors throughout Europe and America. This book celebrates the flowering of the style, and, through over 200 images, shows its development through the 19th and into the 20th century. Packed with colour, the book creates a visual source for all those involved with interiors, collecting, architecture and design. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Dawn Jacobson | | Paperback:
| 240 pages | | Publisher:
| Phaidon Press | | Publication Date:
| March 30, 1999 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0714838365 | | Product Length:
| 11.4 inches | | Product Width:
| 9.85 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.04 inches | | Product Weight:
| 3.27 pounds | | Package Length:
| 11.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 9.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.9 inches | | Package Weight:
| 3.4 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 2 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
West Meets EastMar 26, 2002
By style court
The Far East has inspired Western fashion, interior design and film in recent years: think cropped jeans embellished with embroidered silk, sleeveless Mandarin collar tops, Ralph Lauren's bold mix of red and pink silk bedding, or the profusion of Asian-focused films including Seven Years in Tibet. But this trend is nothing new. Eastern imagery has appeared in Western design for centuries, never really going out of style, and peaking in popularity at various points in history. Ever since the fourteenth century when Europeans first read The Travels of Marco Polo, Westerners have romanticized China and its neighbors, and Western decorative arts have been especially affected by Eastern style. In her book Chinoiserie, Dawn Jacobson explains the phenomenon in great detail. Her focus is on furniture, accessories, interiors and architecture and she highlights the Chinoiserie craze in creations ranging from Chippendale furniture to Delftware to Grauman's Chinese Theater. The illustrations are exquisite and plentiful. Jacobson's text is scholarly-this is an art history text as well as a coffee table book-and the chapters are well organized.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
SuperbFeb 11, 2010
By Theseus
"theseus"
"Thus it has happened...we must all seek the barbarous gaudy gout of the Chinese; and the fat-headed Pagods and shaking Mandarins bear the prize from the greatest works of antiquity; and Apollo and Venus must give way to a fat idol with a sconce on hits head"
-- Mrs Montagu, 1749
Jacobson's book is a loving, wise, readable, and historically-grounded survey of a big topic -- Chinoiserie in Western design. All the elements of decor are covered with attention paid to architecture, landscaping, and painting. The book begins with International Gothic and ends in the 20th century; most of it is devoted to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
Another handsome and well-designed art book from Phaidon: a hefty trade paperback with dustcover, 240 pp on heavy stock, 3.25 pounds, something like 325 illustrations (about 60% of them in color.) Glossary, "Places to Visit," "Further Reading," Index.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Grandeurs and Treasures: The Origins of Chinoiserie
From Chinese Art to Chinoiserie: China Comes to Europe
The Pleasure of Life: Rococo Chinoiserie in France
The Spread of the Style: Chinoiserie in Europe in the 18th Century
No Small Spice in Madness: Rococo Chinoiserie in English Interiors
Chinoiserie in the Landscape: The Jardin Anglo-Chinois in the 18th Century
Through the Looking-Glass: 19th Century Chinoiserie and the Spread to the New World
The 20th Century: Chinoserie's Last Hurrah
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