When was Biedermeier furniture made?
True Biedermeier is Austro-Hungarian furniture made in the first half of the 19th century, with a specific pedigree associated with the years 1815 – 1830.
Who made Biedermeier furniture?
Josef Danhauser and Viennese Biedermeier From 1804 until his death, he operated a furniture workshop in Vienna, at times employing as many as 350 workers who constructed his designs for furniture, sculptures, and home decor.
How do I identify my Biedermeier table?
Key Characteristics:
- Simple and practical forms.
- Restrained elegance.
- Incorporation of geometric shapes and designs.
- Lighter wood tones such as birch, walnut, maple, pear, cherry, and elm, as well as the use of native fruitwoods.
- Emphasis on intricate wood grain.
- Refined ornamentation.
- Little to no ormolu or gilt work.
What era is Biedermeier?
The Biedermeier period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and ended with the onset of the Revolutions of 1848.
What was innovative about Biedermeier furnishings?
The wohnzimmer, or living room, as opposed to the traditional formal salon, is a Biedermeier innovation. And the clean, graceful shapes of Biedermeier furniture were aided by improvements in the techniques for wood veneer and bent wood.
Where did the term Biedermeier come from?
The name Biedermeier was derogatory because it was based on the caricature “Papa Biedermeier,” a comic symbol of middle-class comfort. Such comfort emphasized family life and private activities, especially letter writing (giving prominence to the secretary desk) and the pursuit of hobbies.
What is Biedermeier furniture made from?
Biedermeier furniture used locally available materials such as cherry, ash, and oak woods rather than the expensive timbers such as fully imported mahogany.
Where did the name Biedermeier come from?
1860, especially in Berlin, Vienna, and Munich. The name derives from the fictional (1854) character, Wieland Gottlieb Biedermaier, a comfortable, middle-class figure of fun, Bieder meaning virtuous, and Maier being a common German surname, like Jones.
What does Biedermeier mean and where was it produced what was innovative about Biedermeier furnishings?
Biedermeier is a made-up name. It was invented in the 1840s, with satirical intent and a different spelling, for Gottlieb Biedermaier, a complacent, entirely fictional petit bourgeois who supposedly contributed naïve poems and meditations on daily life to Fliegende Blätter, a weekly magazine in Munich.
What is Biedermeier furniture?
Biedermeier was an influential German style of furniture design that evolved from 1815–1848. The period extended into Scandinavia, as disruptions due to numerous states that made up the German nation were not unified by rule from Berlin until 1871.
What are the characteristics of the Biedermeier period?
Paintings of the period often depict people engaged in ordinary activities, such as embroidering, writing, or visiting with family and friends. Since the fixation of everyday life in the Biedermeier period emphasized the home, the most notable aspects of this style became furniture.
Who was Josef Biedermeier?
Josef Ulrich Danhauser (1780-1829) was the most important Biedermeier furniture designer, creating elegant styles in his workshop in Vienna. From 1804 until his death, he operated a furniture workshop in Vienna, at times employing as many as 350 workers who constructed his designs for furniture, sculptures, and home decor.
Where would Papa Biedermeier have been?
Papa Biedermeier would have been right at home. From 1815-1848, Northern Europe went through a transitional period between the Neoclassical and Romantic eras known as the Biedermeier period.