Regarding clocks, we previously wrote in the article "The Founding School: Who invented the first pendulum?" Why is the Louis XIV style of clocks unforgettable", "She is forever missed with Voltaire, Molière and others, and her ideal image is preserved through this clock", feel the unique and superb watchmaking technology of the French Louis XIV era and Louis XV era, how will this "art of time" develop in the era of Louis XVI, and what kind of exquisite works of art will be created by skilled watchmakers?
Written by | Zhang Yi
Original title: "Looking like a sculpture from a distance, looking at a clock up close, this African princess table clock has a creative design and can also automatically play music | Yihai Pick-up"
This is the best of times and the worst of times. ...
- Charles Dickens
1 Start with Louis XVI's custom desk clock for his wedding
1.1. Peace and Prosperity themed table clock
Figure 1. gilt and cobalt oxide plated table clock, peace and abundance, designed by François Boucher; Jean-Louis Prieur made the clock case; Antoine Pelletier and Charles-Athanase Pinon make movements; The clock dial was written by Dubuisson; Completed in 1770, height 74 cm, width 101 cm, depth 34 cm; It is now displayed in the imperial village of Catherine Palace outside St. Petersburg.
The table clock named "Peace and Abundance" in Figure 1 represents the abundance brought about by peace after defeating the enemy, and it attempts to visualize the dialectical relationship between peace and prosperity. There are a large number of floating clouds around the movement case, on which there are five cherubs, two on the left and right of the clock shell, and one at the top, with various symbols around them and on their hands. Symbolizing peace are classical trophy displays and weapons that have been idle after triumph, such as shields, helmets, Holacris' sticks, and lionskins that accompany the hero; Symbolizing wealth are gold coins, fruits, bundles of grain, bouquets of flowers and leaves, laurel branches, etc.; The cherub at the top of the bell holds a laurel crown, which is both a symbol of ruling power and a symbol of artistic prosperity; Below the laurel is a coat of arms with three small roses, before the French Revolution it was a Bourbon coat of arms with three lilies, and the small rose was a substitute for the one placed after the Revolution. Judging from the ornate bell cover on the back (Fig. 1a), it should be placed in front of a mirror on the fireplace, allowing the viewer to admire the beauty of its back from the side.
Figure 1a. Peace and abundance table clock back
The clock was custom-made by Louis XVI when he was crown prince and placed in his matrimonial room on 16 May 1770 during his marriage to Marie-Antoinette (1755–1793), a princess of the Holy Roman Empire. It later decorated the different rooms of the Dauphin, and after Louis XVI ascended the throne, it was placed in the king's bedroom in the Palace of Versailles. It was nationalized after the French Revolution, sold by the French government in 1796, and sold to St. Petersburg in 1798 to decorate Tsar Paul I's Mikhailovsky Palace, the most expensive French watch sold to Russia in the 18th century.
1.2. Brief comments by Louis XVI
Louis XVI (real name Louis-Auguste, 1754–1793) was the last king of France in the old era, his father was Louis XV's Dauphin of France (1729–1765), but Louis XVI was not the eldest son and would have been unlikely to inherit the throne, so he received an early education with Enlightenment tendencies, and he excelled in Latin, history, geography and astronomy Fluent in Italian and English, he also enjoys doing his own handicraft, especially locks. He is also very interested in watchmaking, and he personally ordered the clock at his wedding in Figure 1, and had many interactions with the authors during the manufacturing process. Judging from the theme of peace and abundance of the table clock, Louis XVI should have had many beautiful hopes and yearning for the country he would rule in the future.
After taking the throne in 1774, he tried to reform France according to Enlightenment ideals, including the abolition of serfdom and the abolition of harsh taxes such as land taxes. He also abolished the Edict of Fontainebleau issued by Louis XIV and advocated religious tolerance, but his reforms were strongly opposed by the hereditary nobility, and because of his weak personality, Louis XVI did not take particularly radical measures against these nobles, and his compromise made the reform largely fruitless.
If anything Louis XVI did, it was his strong support for the North American War of Independence that eventually led to the independence of the thirteen North American states, no doubt a great victory for France over Britain after the defeat of the British in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). France ostensibly enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity after victory, but support for the North American War actually worsened France's finances, the government fell into huge debts, food shortages caused by natural disasters in 1788 eventually led to popular discontent, and the Paris Revolution broke out in 1789. Louis XVI was forced to sign the Declaration of Human Rights, which temporarily won popular support, but later fled because of his dissatisfaction with the revolutionary regime and was executed together with Queen Maria Antonette after his arrest (Figure 1b). To some extent, he was a good old man with a weak personality, whose politics were relatively relaxed, Enlightenment ideas were widely spread, and his artistic career, including clock design, also flourished; But as a king, he was clearly unqualified, especially in turbulent times.
Figure 1b. Isidore Stanislas Helman, Execution of Louis XVI, copperplate, 1794, now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
2 An overview of neoclassical art movements from the mid-eighteenth century
The shape of the table clock in Figure 1 was designed by the great French painter François Boucher, and although its overall shape is neoclassical, there is a rococo softness in the details. Western art history usually defines Boucher as a Rococo painter, but he undoubtedly had a keen eye for artistic trends, and he led his best student, Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), to neoclassicism, and the design of this clock was Boucher himself's reaction to Art Nouveau.
2.1. Introduction to Neoclassical Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
In the mid-18th century, with the rediscovery and archaeological excavations of the ancient cities of Pompeiii and Herculaneum, coupled with the foundational analysis of ancient Greco-Roman art by the German scholar Johann Joachim Wincklemann (1717-1768), a vigorous neoclassical art movement began in Europe. Although neoclassical art was a movement throughout Europe, French artists of Louis XVI's time not only played an important leading role in this movement, but also created a number of great masterpieces of pure art for humanity. We will give just a few examples for the reader's enjoyment.
Completed in the late period of Louis XVI, when the painter was a student studying in Rome for winning the Prix de Rome, David's masterpiece (Fig. 2) shocked the entire Italian art scene because of its spirit that transcended the old era, and is often mistaken for a product of the French Revolution. Although it is a work that celebrates the dedication of citizens to the country, for those who know Roman history, it implies the theme that the state should have a just and tolerant law, and is a concrete expression of the deep-rooted ideas of the Enlightenment. The passion and tension shown in this painting, coupled with the resolute and simple Roman style, became the mainstream painting style in the later French Revolution era.
Figure 2. David, The League of the Brothers of Horace, oil on canvas, 1784, height 329.8 cm, width 424.8 cm, now on display in the Louvre Museum丨Image source: Wikipedia
The Pantheon of Paris (Fig. 3), designed and supervised by Jacques-Germain Soufflot (1713–1780) and Jean-Baptiste Rondelet (1743–1829), was finally completed in 1790 at the end of Louis XVI's era. It is the most outstanding work of neoclassical architecture, inheriting the essence of classical temple architecture and the achievements of the Renaissance, with a magnificent and elegant appearance, and is still one of the most important landmarks in Paris.
Figure 3. Jacques-Germain Souflo and Jean-Baptis Lenderé, Pantheon, Paris, built between 1758 and 1790丨Image source: Wikipedia
Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716–1791), one of the greatest French sculptors of all time, surpassed all similar works in history and became an extremely important work in art history with his bronze equestrian statue of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg, Russia. It shows Peter the Great driving his horse to the top of a hill, and he will break through all the resistances and bring feudal backward Russia to the sea and prosperity. This statue has great technical difficulties, especially Peter the Great's horses under the throne with their front hooves in the air and the horse's body slightly reclined, giving the viewer a new visual experience.
Figure 4. Fakonne, a bronze equestrian statue of Peter the Great, also known as the Bronze Horseman, created in 1766-1788, the statue itself is 6 meters high, located in St. Petersburg, Russia丨Image source: Wikipedia
2.2. French neoclassical clocks as part of Art Deco
The second half of the 18th century was a special period in the development of French artistic creation. During this time, the best painters, sculptors, architects, watchmakers, furniture makers, wood carvers, bronze casters, etc. were supported by the most powerful or wealthy patrons, especially in the decorative arts, who sometimes even invested millions of livres in the creation of a work, so that the best artists could be attracted to participate and personally design and produce the clock. Faconne, one of France's greatest sculptors, also designed and built clocks himself, to name just one (Fig. 5).
Figure 5. White marble sculpture table clock, out of the bath Venus, made in the 1780s, 50 cm, 52.5 cm, 19 cm high, now in the Hermitage collection.
The French clock of Louis XVI is undoubtedly a product of neoclassical fashion and the Enlightenment. It should be pointed out that European art from the 15th century to the 18th century experienced the artistic exploration of different styles such as the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo and achieved fruitful results, and although the neoclassical art that emerged in the mid-18th century wanted to return to the classical, it inherited the achievements of the previous European artists, which is particularly evident in the decorative arts including clock design.
The two allegorical motifs of the sun on the right and the night on the left of this bell (Fig. 5a) are derived from the decorative sculptures made by Michelangelo for the mausoleum of Giuliano de' Medici (1479-1516) in the early 16th century. These two sculptures were used by André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) on day-and-night themed table clocks in the time of Louis XIV, linking this pair of decorative sculptures to the watchmaker's philosophical thinking about time. French architect Antoine Matthieu Le Carpentier (1709-1773) continued Boole's creativity by designing this neoclassical table clock.
Figure 5a. Bronze gilt and cobalt-plated cobalt oxide day and night statue table clock, circa 1775, height 68 cm, width 100.7 cm, thickness 25 cm, Antoine Matthew Le Carpantier designed the bell case, royal watchmaker Libert made the movement, now on display in the Wallace Collection Museum in London, England.
Figure 5a-1. Michelangelo, Mausoleum of Duke Giuliano de' Medici, marble sculpture, made between 1526 and 1534, now on display in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence
Lepaute Horloger du Roi, the royal watchmaker, was the co-signature of two of the most talented watchmakers of the second half of the 18th century, who officially became working partners from October 1758. The elder brother Jean-André Lepaute (1720–1789) wrote Traité d'Horlogerie (On Watchmaking), and the younger brother, Jean-Baptiste Lepaute (1727–1802), both were very successful and obtained the position of royal watchmaker. Jean-André Liberte retired in 1775 and Jean-Baptiste continued to work with his two nephews, whose watch business continued until 1792. They became famous for producing a large number of clocks for royal families, aristocrats and elites in France and many European countries.
3 Almost completely sculpted table clock
3.1 African Princess Desk Clock
Figure 6. Automatic bronze gilt and cobalt oxide plated with white marble black princess table clock, made in 1784, height 73.7 cm, width 41.3 cm, depth 22.9 cm, the movement by horologist Jean-Jean-Jean-André Fritt, the clock shell by sculptor and master bronze caster Eterné Martin Coulter, now on display at the Metropolitan Museum.
The table clock in Figure 6 at first glance looks like a popular decorative sculpture of an African princess at that time, it is made of bronze gilt with cobalt oxide, and its base and base are made of white and black marble with luxurious gilt bronze bas-reliefs and decorative lace, making it look very artistic and a rare decorative sculpture treasure. The sculptor's black princess wears a feathered turban on her head, and the long string of pearls that ties her hair naturally rests on her chest; She wears a loose shirt with fringed trims, and due to the slight sagging left side of the shirt, we can see her plump and firm breasts, which are obviously from classical sculpture, but replace the ancient Greco-Roman gods with handsome African princesses; On the shoulders of this princess is a quiver with feathered arrows tied with bouquets, while the bow is placed behind her back. The pedestal of the sculpture is made of white marble and gilt bronze, and on each side of the platform above the pedestal sits a winged cherub holding a flower branch in his hand, and the gilt green relief on the front of the pedestal shows four children returning from hunting, flanked by neoclassical decorative motifs. Underneath the pedestal is a luxurious decorative sculpture of plant leaf lace, underneath which is a geometric double-layer base made of white and black marble, a circle of bronze gilt lace in the shape of a rope at the junction of black and white, and six gyroscopic gilt bronze feet at the bottom.
Although it looks like a sculpture, it is indeed a clock, and it is very creative. The princess's head is actually the movement shell of the clock, which is hidden in both of the princess's eyes, and when you pull down the earring in your right ear, the princess's eyes open to read the hours and minutes (Figure 6a). The clock movement is connected to the organ in the base and automatically plays music at the hour, but if you just want to listen to music, you can pull the left earring and the organ can play immediately. It is worth pointing out that such a clock with an automatic organ music playing system is extremely demanding on the external environment, any change in temperature and humidity may affect the performance of the organ, and its mechanical part also requires frequent maintenance, in the time of Louis XVI, the palace specially hired the great watchmaker Robert Robin (1741-1799) to take care of this clock.
Figure 6a. Princess eyes as clock dials
The bell shell was written by the sculptor Étienne Matincourt (circa 1730–1796), one of the most important French sculptors, master bronze foundries and decorative designers of the second half of the 18th century, who received the title and qualification of master bronze foundry in July 1762, and the following year he joined the Académie de Saint-Rouc, the traditional organization of sculptors and painters in Paris Saint-Luc) received the title and qualification of master sculptor and painter. We know very little about his life except that he lived in an area north of the Louvre in Paris, which has been home to Parisian bronze foundries since the Middle Ages. It was thanks to the title of Master of Bronze Casting, coupled with the qualification of Master of the Saint Roque School of Art, that he was able to work in bronze sculpture and Art Deco design, two different guilds, without being punished by the strict rules of the guild of the time. His prestige in Paris and the gathering of important and wealthy patrons and collaborators led him to produce some of the greatest decorative arts in 18th-century France. We can see his work today at the Wallace Collection in the United Kingdom, the Catherine Palace Museum in Pushkin, Russia, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Getty Museum in California.
The movement was written by the French watchmaker Jean-Baptiste-André Furet (1720-1807), who was born into a family of watchmakers, whose father was also a watchmaker. In 1746 he received the title and qualification of master watchmaker, and in 1747 he took over his father's business with his studio on Rue Saint-Honoré. In 1758 he was offered the post of Horologer Ordinaire du Roi pour sa Bibliothèque (daily watchmaker of the Royal Library). He made a number of highly creative timepieces. He went bankrupt in 1786 and after his fortune was auctioned, he still owed 177,000 livres to various creditors. Today, we can see his works in the Louvre Museum in France, the Royal Collection Museum in London, England, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA.
This sculpture of an African princess clock was made of five similar works at the time, and we are showing you the display of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Figure 6b). The rest are collected or displayed in the Louvre, the British Crown and the Spanish Crown, and one is in a private collection.
Figure 6b. The Metropolitan Museum of Museums exhibition hall where this clock is placed
3.2. Love triumphs over time
Figure 7. Bronze gilt with white marble mantelpiece clock, love conquers time, made 1785–1790, height 94 cm, width 104.1 cm, thickness 31.8 cm, movement by Jean-Baptiste Lepaute (1727–1802), partial sculptural design by Augustin Pajou (1730–1809), Étienne Martincourt, circa 1730-1796) made the bell shell, which is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The philosophical artistic theme of love triumphing over time originated in Venice during the Renaissance, and became popular in France during the time of Louis XIV and became the subject of clock modeling. In 1783, with French support, the thirteen North American states became independent after a few years of war after completely defeating Britain. France finally avenged its defeat in the Seven Years' War, and the victory ushered in a period of relative joy for France. Figure 7 This table clock was created in this historical context. To the left of the bell is Cupid, the goddess of love, who holds an upside-down torch in his left hand, symbolizing the arrival of world peace, and he uses the feather arrow he holds in his right hand to indicate the time. At the top of the right side of the bell is a cherub flying from the sky carrying branches of roses, garlands and ears of wheat with leaves to the earth; And Kronos, the god of time, sits dejectedly at the bottom right of the clock. A rectangular themed relief of the sacrifice of love underneath the ball. Here is another picture of the table clock with the same theme for the reader to enjoy (Figure 7a).
Figure 7a. Bronze gilt and cobalt oxide plated mantelpiece clock, love conquers time, Augustin Paewu designed bell case, Eternie Martin Kurt made clock case, circa 1780s, height 62.5 cm, width 35 cm, thickness 25 cm, now on display in the Wallace Collection Museum in London, England.
Finally, it should be noted that the horizontally rotating clock dial appeared in the late Louis XV era, when neoclassical art was at its inception, and was quickly favored by sculptors because of the special way the clock dial was embedded in the bell shell. Desk clocks made from horizontally rotating dials, even a relatively simple vase table clock (Fig. 8), have a strong sculptural feel, and their chronograph function is second. Although such a tendency to emphasize sculpture in the shape of the clock is all the rage, it has also been criticized by some watch enthusiasts, who believe that the first thing that clocks should emphasize is the chronograph function. In the history of the development of French watches, the latter's point of view gradually prevailed, so this highly sculptural work eventually withdrew from the mainstream of clock modeling. Looking back today, we cannot but admire the artistic timekeeping works created by the Parisian sculptors, bronze casters and watchmakers at that time.
Figure 8. Sèvres porcelain with gilt bronze vase-shaped table clock, movement by Nicolas-Charles Dutertre, circa 1770, 54 cm high; Width 21.5cm, depth 20.5cm丨Image courtesy of Pendulum Clock Gallery in Paris
4 Lire-shaped table clocks
Since the production of clocks in France in the time of Louis XIV, the shape of the table clock can be basically divided into two categories: architectural style is taken from buildings such as triumphal arches or various types of housing, and may be accompanied by some reliefs and decorative figure sculptures, etc., but the important thing is that it has only one focus, that is, the clock dial for chronographing; The sculptural table clock places more emphasis on the theme of the sculptural figure on the shell, and it usually has two focal points: the chronograph dial and the theme sculpture. Both types of bells developed considerably in the era of Baroque and Rococo trends, but their shapes were relatively complex, slightly contradicting the neoclassical style of simplicity. Clock designers and collectors alike therefore want to produce pieces that are more in line with new trends and can be used to express their unconventional pursuits and tastes. Against this background, the Lira-shaped table clock became popular (Figure 9 and Figure 9a). The shape of the clock is relatively simple, and the lielin is also reminiscent of the ancient Greek legend of Apollo and the muses, the sun gods of music and poetry, chanting and dancing on Mount Parnassus (Figure 10). To some extent, the Liel-shaped table clock is an innovation in the retro movement, but the Liela clock model dates back to 1724 in France, when Jacques Thuret made a Liel-style clock with a gilt wood clock shell for the Académie Française.
Figure 9. White marble and bronze gilt openwork Lira-shaped clock, circa 1790, 55 cm high, 24 cm wide and 22.5 cm deep, movement by watchmaker Jean-Simon Bourdier, now on display at Peterhof outside St. Petersburg, Russia.
Figure 9a. Bronze gilt and white marble openwork lier-style table clock, made in Paris in the 1780s, 61 cm high, 29 cm wide and 16 cm deep, now on display at Pavlovsk Palace outside St. Petersburg.
Figure 10. Anton Raphael Mengs, Mount Parnass, fresco, painted in 1761, 313 cm high and 580 cm wide, now on display at Villa Albani, Rome, Italy.
Here we briefly introduce the shape of the liela-shaped table clock with figures 9 and 9a, which has a bell frame derived from the liel, which is usually made of gilt bronze, marble or hard porcelain; Inside the lielin-style bell holder there is a clock dial; There are simple decorative sculptures at the top of the bell, usually of only two types, one is the face of the sun god Apollo, which symbolizes light, poetry and music, and the other is the head of the eagle, which symbolizes power, and in ancient Greek mythology, the eagle is the incarnation or pet of the main god Zeus. Behind the decorative sculpture at the top of the bell is where the string-shaped pendulum hangs.
Readers may have noticed that the table clocks in both pictures have open/hollowed dial faces, allowing viewers to appreciate the mechanical and moving beauty of the clock. This is the result of technological advances in the manufacture of clock movements, and the watchmaker's willingness to show his skills to the viewer is a sign of confidence.
Here we will take a closer look at a luxurious-looking Lira-shaped table clock (Fig. 11), whose frame is made of new blue hard porcelain with gilt bronze decoration made by the royal Sèvres porcelain factory, and one can read not only the time, date, etc. on the ornate and elegant clock dial, but also the corresponding astrological signs. The most striking feature of this clock is its pendulum, which is decorated with a circle of beautifully polished man-made diamonds. The royal Sèvres porcelain factory designed this bell in 1785, its clock holder is available in four colors: turquoise, green, pink and new blue, for the top aristocracy and wealthy fashionistasis, Louis XVI himself has a very similar Lira table clock placed in the Palace of Versailles. The watchmaker Dieudonné Kinable (active 1780–1825) purchased a batch of Liela bell holders from the royal Sèvres porcelain factory and developed different variants based on their basic shapes in the late 18th century.
Figure 11. Sèvres porcelain and gilt bronze lilla table clock, circa 1785-1790, height 62 cm, width 26 cm, depth 16 cm; Diudoni Coinabao made the movement and the majolica juniper-junièss made the dial, which is now on display at the Pendulum Gallery in Paris.
We conclude this section without too much explanation about an elegant and rare oriental style Lielin openwork table clock made by watchmaker Jacques-Thomas Bréant (1753–1807) (Fig. 12). The Carrara white marble bell frame is decorated with gilt bronze decorative sculptures in the French imagination of the Oriental style, and at the top of the clock sits an imaginary oriental woman. Because Count d'Artois (later King Charles X of France, 1757-1836) collected the same clock and placed it in his palace in his Baguet garden, this clock shape was all the rage in Paris and became a sought after object.
Figure 12. Oriental style lielin-style mantelpiece clock; Made circa 1785, height 66 cm, width 37 cm, depth 17 cm; Clockmaker Jack-Thomas Blionte makes the movement丨Image courtesy of the Pendulum Clock Gallery in Paris
About the author
Zhang Yi is an art historian researcher, consultant of the Department of Clocks and Antique Instruments of the Hermitage Museum in Russia, consultant of the French Pendulum Gallery, consultant of the Guangdong Provincial Professional Committee for Research in Clock Collections, and a mathematician and logician.