In the 18th century, the decorative arts emerged as a major art form. New styles and uses proliferated, skills were perfected and the number of connoisseurs and collectors grew, all at the frenetic pace of ever-changing tastes. This unprecedented development was the result of a refi ned art of living that made the decorative arts its preferred means of expression. Craftsmen, merchants, and collectors all sought perfection in line, richness of material and originality of design, giving rise to the creation of outstanding masterpieces.
Founded in 1972, Galerie Léage specialises in museum-quality eighteenth-century furniture and objets d’art. Its collection is world-renowned for the rarity and historical interest of its pieces. Since 2020, the gallery has regularly published Interludes, newsletters on a variety of subjects, often illustrated with works from its collection, in order to share its love of this period with as many people as possible. Now gathered together in this book, they reveal the many artistic, social and historical infl uences that shaped the decorative arts of the period.