Taking its name from the Directory, from 1795 to 1799, this style does not form an independent entity, but must be defined as a transitional phenomenon, making the link between the Louis XVI and Empire styles. In a word, it is a style that is both the end of Louis XVI and the beginnings of the Empire.
Already under the reign of Louis XVI, a movement advocating a more faithful imitation of antique models had emerged; However, it was only with the Empire that it reached its full maturity. If the Revolution of 1789 was not at the origin of a radical change in the field of furniture, it still made it possible to accelerate the movement, it precisely responding to the revolutionaries' taste for the republican ideals of ancient societies.
Many pieces belonging to the Directoire style extend the classic tradition of Louis XVI, but with a more severe treatment. At this time, fond of allegories of all kinds, revolutionary emblems invaded furniture, wall decor and textiles. Among these are the Phrygian cap (Liberty), the spirit levels (Equality), the joined hands (Fraternity), the peaks (Liberty), the eye inscribed in a triangle (Reason), the three orders of the nation, namely the cross (clergy), the sword (nobility) and the shovel crowned with the Phrygian cap (Third Estate), etc.
The furniture had to be a carbon copy of pieces brought to light by the excavations of Pompeii, or be inspired by representations appearing on ancient vases or bas-reliefs. David, the famous painter, did more for the establishment of this new taste than any other. He designed a series of pieces – more or less exact copies of Greco-Roman models – and ordered Jacob to produce them for him in 1789 or 1790.
Among these famous pieces were curule-shaped mahogany seats with X-shaped legs, inspired by the Greek klismos, and the graceful, pure-lined daybed on which David represented Madame Récamier. The Revolution resulted in the abolition of trade guilds in 1791.
This meant that the rules by which the corporations had controlled the training of artisans, their apprenticeship and their companionship, were abolished and that nothing anymore hindered the free production of crafted goods, whatever the trade concerned.
The arts of luxury, like the production of furniture, thus began to decline from this date, with the exception of prestigious furniture made under the First Empire by craftsmen who had preserved the traditions of excellence stemming from the reigns of the three Louis. The most celebrated interior decoration of the last years of the Republic undoubtedly belonged to Madame Récamier.
At the forefront of stylistic evolution, this ensemble was due to the genius of two men, Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, the famous ornamentalists. Made in mahogany, seats and daybeds, with broad curves very convincingly reminiscent of their Greek models, are often remarkable in their refined and archaeologically documented treatment.
Other types of furniture from this period often featured extravagant ornaments, both archaeological and symbolic, such as Roman swords, Jupiter's lightning, hooked animal feet and lion muzzles. After Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, in which a large number of scientists, writers and archaeologists took part, France and Europe were prey to the most virulent Egyptomania.
Among the observers was the architect and archaeologist Dominique Vivant Denon (1747-1825) who took advantage of his stay in Egypt to gather the material for a book, Le Voyage dans la basse et la haute Espagne, published in 1802.
This major work, quickly known for its descriptions and its plates reproducing sphinxes and pylons, contributed very largely to the dissemination of Egyptian-type ornaments. Indeed, shortly after its publication, a number of pieces of Egyptian inspiration appeared in the drawing collections of Percier and Fontaine. Through the Coup d'Etat of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon established the Consulate and himself became First Consul. This act marked the beginning of his role in artistic evolution, although he did not accede to the throne until 1804. From 1799, one of his concerns was to reconstitute a new court; to give it a dignified setting, he occupied already existing palaces, but which he wished to refurnish in such a way as to evoke his own accomplishments and his regime. To this end, he employed Percier and Fontaine, ardent defenders of antique taste, who redecorated Saint-Cloud, the Tuileries, the Louvre and other palatial apartments in a style characteristic of this era marked by important military conquests.
It was therefore during the Consulate that the scholarly and archaeological style which would be that of the First Empire saw the light of day. The interior decoration thus multiplied the symbols linked to war and the figures of victory with outstretched wings and floating drapes; later came imperial emblems, such as eagles. Obviously, Greek art, sober and simple, failed to convey what the imperial power wanted to express in terms of grandeur and heroism.
Napoleon's style therefore sought its models in the massive and pompous art of ancient Rome. Few pieces of furniture were given new forms before the Empire. In the field of seats, two very common types can be discerned and, like all Directoire seats, their rear legs, of square section, have a saber-shaped curvature.
These are then extended by the amounts in the file; this specific trait is the first element that we notice in imitations of Greek klismos and does not lack elegance. Of the two types of Directoire seat, the first is still close to the Louis XV style.
The backrest, slightly concave, has flared uprights forming more or less pronounced angles with the upper crosspiece. The second has an inverted backrest, like a klismos.
Common to both types are the shapes of the front feet, always turned and tapered; the armrests end in pommels, volutes or are at right angles and decorated, at the connection with the backrest, with a palm or a sculpted shell. The armrest supports are in the shape of a baluster or column; sometimes, as is the case for one of Madame Récamier's armchairs, the supports take the shape of a winged sphinx or a similar motif.
The sculpted ornament, little tormented at this time, is available in daisies, stars, tureens – a type of antique vase –, relief nets; the diamond, complete or with turned down angles, is one of the most frequently repeated Directoire motifs. The most celebrated piece of Directoire furniture is undoubtedly the daybed, of Greek inspiration.
It is characterized by upturned backrests, either of identical dimensions, like that made famous by the portrait of Madame Récamier painted by David, or of slightly unequal sizes, while the legs can be top-shaped or affect the gracefully curved shape of the rear legs of the seats.
The boat bed, typical of the Empire, made its debut before the start of the First Empire. Concerning the chests of drawers and the furniture intended to serve as a writing support, these essentially present an extension of the Louis XVI style, simply treated with more seriousness.