The development history of Italian furniture: the 16th century

In the 16th century, the Renaissance spread from Italy to the entire Europe. The essence of home design moved from religion to court. Architectural elements are widely used, sculpture, mosaic, and painting have become common decorative techniques, and the overall design is simple and refined. In terms of material, walnut became the most popular wood at the time, giving people a heavy feeling.

The furniture of this period generally belonged only to the nobility, and the quality of the furniture directly reflected the owner's status, financial resources and taste. Since the Italian aristocratic mansions were very large, in order to look more grand, the proportions of the furniture would be correspondingly larger. This directly caused the furniture to look better than comfortable, but it did not hinder the dazzling wealthy behavior of the aristocrats at all.

The development history of Italian furniture: the seventeenth century

In the 17th century, the new bourgeoisie occupied a dominant position in the social and economic field. They advocated hedonistic aesthetic tendencies and luxurious design styles. As a result, the Baroque style's exaggerated movement and legible details have become popular throughout Europe. The furniture at this time was still relatively large, but walnut roots began to be used as decorative materials, and brass was put into it to give it a little more flair. In terms of craftsmanship, sculptures are used more for furniture decoration.

Intricate carving techniques began to surround the furniture, making it look more like a sculpture. Stone carving was another decorative technique that emerged at that time. Legend has it that there was a group of people in Florence in the 17th century who often went to the Arnold River to pick up beautiful stones for furniture decoration. It can be seen that this decoration technology is not picky about the type of stone, and "appearance" is the only criterion.

The development history of Italian furniture: the eighteenth century

There is a feng shui ridge in the history of European furniture in the eighteenth century, which is the throne of Louis XV and Louis XVI. Before that, Italy had been the leader in the European furniture industry. However, after that, with the rapid development of French furniture design, Italy's leading position in the industry was gradually shaken. The styles of residences in the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods were also very different. Starting from the Louis XV period, the overall size of the residences would be relatively small, gradually approaching our feeling of "home", and the Rococo style gradually becoming prevalent.

Unlike the previous straight architectural elements, some rhythmic lines began to appear on the furniture. One side of the furniture is no longer so square, but has an arc. The most representative one is the "little belly" that appears on the table legs. During the Louis XVI period, since Pompeii was excavated from volcanic rocks, designers began to seek inspiration from the ruins of the ancient city. At this time, the architectural elements of ancient Greece and Rome were respected, and neoclassicism became mainstream. Home decor style made simple. The lines have become straight lines, no longer the original curves, and the rounded corners have become right angles, forming a sharp contrast with the Rococo style.

The development history of Italian furniture: the 19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon overthrew the governor-general's government and was crowned emperor of France. After taking office, he and his wife visited furniture carpentry workshops and ordered furniture for their mansion, which led to the birth of the Imperial style. Imperial style furniture is characterized by its rich flavor and highlights its noble spirit. Roman decorations such as the Statue of Liberty, Roman trusses, overflowing cornucopias, crowns, etc. It became a decorative pattern at that time.

These patterns generally have their own meanings. For example, laurel wreaths symbolized knowledge and power during the ancient Roman period. This element was used to decorate furniture to reflect the authority of the empire. Similar to this, ancient Chinese emperors often designed dragon chairs and dragon couches with "dragon" as the main element. It can be seen that the pursuit of beauty in imperial-style home decoration is secondary, but the symbol of power and political power is dominant.

History of Italian furniture development: World War II

At this time, Italian furniture was not too cumbersome. Practicality and beauty have since become the main principles of Italian design. Among them Gio Ponti is the main initiator of this movement. His Italian design is all-encompassing, not just furniture. Public architecture, interior decoration, ceramics, lamps, metal and glass products are all influenced by him. Influenced designers of the same generation and the younger generation.