Les appartements de l’impératrice Eugénie aux Tuileries : le xviiie siècle retrouvé ?

Abstract

Empress Eugénie’s taste for Louis XVI works of art and fascination for Marie-Antoinette is well-known, but very few publications focuse on the reality of it—except Alison McQueen’s Empress Eugénie and the Art. The Empress’ apartment at the Tuileries Palace is one of the most significative location where many works of art and pieces of furniture from Louis XVI time were gathered in a decorative point of view. First, Empress Eugénie picked out many 18th Century pieces from former apartements to keep them in her rooms, like in a "sanctuary". But a few years later, she asked her architect, Hector-Martin Lefuel, to build and decorate a very new apartment, which was representative of the Empress’ taste: the so-called Louis XVI-Impératrice style was born. Inspired by the late 18th Century decoration, this conception rely on displaying contemporary works alongside with authentic royal furniture from the Garde-Meuble collection.

Keywords

• Empress Eugénie
• Tuileries Palace
• reuse and integration
• interior Design
• furniture
• Hector-Martin Lefuel