Jean-Joseph Chapuis (1765-1864) Mahogany and white marble half-moon console Directoire period
A large, elegant half-moon console in mahogany veneer and ebony inlay, resting on four handsome sheathed legs joined by a spacer shelf.
Our console is topped with a fine white Carrara marble.
Beautiful Belgian work from the late 18th century, Directoire period circa 1795-1799, attributed to Jean-Joseph Chapuis (1765-1864). The shape of the base is typical of Jean-Joseph Chapuis' work of this period.
Sizes: H 31.49 In. - W 57.48 In. - D 24.01 In.
In very good condition, we report a repair to the marble.
Biography:
Jean-Joseph Chapuis was born in Brussels in 1765 and died there in 1864.
He left Savoy with his cousin for Paris to apprentice with a famous master carpenter, Georges Jacob, "Fournisseur des Meubles du Roy". He obtained his master's degree in cabinetmaking, which enabled him to use a stamp, and set up his workshop in Brussels around 1795. Here, he designed a large number of combination and mechanism furniture pieces for the Court, hence the name "mechanical cabinetmaker". Today, his furniture is exhibited in Brussels in the Royal Museums of Art and History and the Musée Charlier in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. Jean-Joseph Chapuis retired from the business in 1830, at the age of 99.
When the first works on the history of French furniture in the 18th century appeared in Paris, a mistake was made regarding the Chapuis stamp, which was attributed to a namesake, Claude, who was in fact a simple merchant, about whom nothing is known, but who deprived Jean-Joseph Chapuis of his renown. This little-known existence explains why so little furniture by Jean-Joseph Chapuis exists in public collections abroad or in Belgium, apart from the Vleeshuis Museum in Antwerp. Only the Musée Charlier in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (Brussels) provides access to several pieces of Chapuis furniture, all assembled by the same empire enthusiast, Joseph Adolphe Van Cutsem, who in 1865 completed his collection with two major purchases at the funeral sale of Jean Joseph Chapuis. But even this collection does not reflect all the facets of the cabinetmaker's production.
Museums:
Bruxelles dans les musées royaux d’arts et d’histoire et le musée Charlier de Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.
Musée Jacquemart-André.
Bibliography:
A.-M. Bonenfant-Feytmans, « Les meubles de l’ébéniste Jean Joseph Chapuis aux Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire à Bruxelles », Bulletin des Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire – Bulletin van de Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis, Bruxelles, Musées Royaux d’Art et D’Histoire, 1986, tome 57 – fascicule 1.
