About This Artwork

Mrs. James Ward Thorne
American, 1882-1966

E-22: French Provincial Bedroom of the Louis XV Period, 18th Century, c. 1937

Miniature room, mixed media
Interior: 11 x 19 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. (27.9 x 49.5 x 44.5 cm)
[Scale: 1 inch = 1 foot]
Gift of Mrs. James Ward Thorne, 1941.1207

"This bedroom of a country house in Normandy represents the provincial interpretation of the style of Louis XV," wrote Mrs. Thorne. She intended this interior to show the way in which a growing middle class outside of Paris adapted some of the innovations in comfort and style characteristic of Louis XV's reign for their relatively modest homes. A striving for beauty is demonstrated in the richly carved armoire against the left wall and in the sprigged wallpaper supplementing the paneling of the back wall.