IN THE MANNER OF JUSTE-AURELE MEISSONNIER, MID-18TH CENTURY

The lively and sinuous form of these ormolu candlesticks is characteristic of Juste-Aurèle Meissonier (1695-1750). Born in Turin, Meissonier moved to Paris in 1715 and rapidly gained a reputation as a prominent tastemaker for le genre pittoresque, the earliest exuberant shout of the rocaille. Meissonier and the genre pittoresque spurned symmetry and order and instead drew from nature and leaned into romantic fantasy. Known as a painted, sculpture, architect and even silversmith, his energetic designs perhaps belied his own vigor. In 1726 Meissonnier was named dessinateur to the king, which provided him with a sizable regular income until his death and positioned him to influence taste at the French court (see Dorothea Nyberg, Meissonnier: An Eighteenth Century Maverick, New York, 1969).

For comparable designs by Meissonier, see Gabriel Huquier, Œuvres de Juste Aurèle Meissonnier Peintre Sculpteur Architecte, Dessinateur de la Chambre et Cabinet du roi, Paris, 1750, pl. 73-75.