17th Century French Decorative and Applied Art

The Hermitage’s exhibition of decorative and applied French art from the 17th-18th centuries is located in the First Reserved Apartment of the Winter Palace, which was designed by Alexander Brullov after the fire of 1837. In 17th century France, artistic craftwork evolved in part thanks to official support from the state. The tapestry The Battle between the Sabines and Romans was completed in the workshops of the Louvre gallery; it belonged to one of several duplicates of the series Rape of the Sabine Women, which was given to Louix XIV by Cardinal Mazarin. The Baroque painted ceramics from Nevers (a vase with a depiction of Silenus, plaquettes with bacchanale scenes) are reminiscent of engravings by Michel Dorigny, which were based on paintings by Simon Vouet (1590-1649). The influence of Vouet and Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) can be seen in the design of a vase with handles in the form of bucrania. The cabinet on a stand is decorated with such Baroque ornaments as the image of a bird and flowers made with marquetry, while the set of chairs is covered with Genoese velvet from the late 16th-early 17th centuries. Belonging to the same era is a ceramic finial of a roof consisting of nine pieces crowned by a figure of a dove. Among the ivory works on display are several tobacco grinders decorated with fine threads.