From the Renaissance onwards, Île-de-France experienced a very brilliant artistic boom. Particularly around 1725, when the Court of François I, leaving Touraine, settled there.
The king attracted famous Italian artists to his palace at Fontainebleau. From then on this place became a school, setting the tone for artistic life which radiated throughout the Paris region. The Fontainebleau School resulted in the design of rich furniture with a very architectural character, abundantly sculpted (mythological scenes, nymphs, goddesses, swans, etc.) in the spirit of the decor at the Fontaine des Innocents created by Jean Goujon. It is also supposed that from him came the idea of applying this type of ornamentation to the furniture of the Court. This period saw a number of castles and beautiful, richly furnished residences flourish.
In the 17th century, the middle and lower bourgeoisie already constituted prosperous classes for whom many quality pieces of furniture were also produced. In the 18th century, the center of artistic influence was Versailles and the royal residences were equipped with very luxurious furniture reminiscent of Parisian art. This furniture served as models in all the provinces where, alongside precious furniture, solid wood furniture was also produced, also inspired by Paris. At this time a class of small owners developed on whose behalf comfortable and neat furniture was produced.
In Île-de-France, rustic furniture remained extremely simple until the Revolution. Sensitized by Parisian fashion, he stuck mainly to the Louis XV style. Generally speaking, despite the proximity of the capital, the styles were transposed with a delay of around a quarter of a century, by artisans from the surrounding countryside. As everywhere else, the mid-19th century heralded the decline of original creations in the field of peasant or bourgeois furniture.
We were content to make a quantity of furniture in the Louis-Philippe spirit, without adding any imagination or local character.