Louis XVI Style

Louis XVI style, also called Louis Seize, is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art that developed in France during the eighteen year reign of Louis XVI from 1774 to 1792, just before the French Revolution, marking both the final phase of the Baroque tradition and the birth of French Neoclassicism. It arose as a reaction against the elaborate ornament of the preceding Baroque period and drew inspiration from the newly rediscovered Ancient Roman paintings, sculpture and architecture found at Herculaneum and Pompeii, favoring the straight column, the plainness of the post and lintel, and the architrave of the Greek temple over earlier excess, in keeping with Rousseau inspired ideas about a return to nature. The style was active chiefly from 1774 until the Revolution in 1789, and it marked the transition from ornate Baroque forms toward the cleaner lines of Neoclassicism while still allowing for grandeur alongside a new emphasis on intimate interior spaces.