King vs. King: A Tale of Two Styles

Beheaded at the age of 38 in the midst of the French Revolution in 1793, King Louis XVI had both a short life and a relatively short reign. His presence however is felt two centuries later in places far from Versailles. One of the most important ways is in the modern world of design…

While Louis XVI period furniture can be found, there is a far larger universe of pieces that are inspired by his style. One of the significant aspects of that universe are Gustavian pieces. Gustavian pieces are named after King Gustav III of Sweden. In 1771 the future king returned home to Sweden after having spent time at the Court of Versailles then under the reign of Louis XV. While there he became fascinated with French culture and style, which at the time was transitioning from the rich, ostentatious Rocailles style (known as Rococo outside France) that prevailed under Louis XV to the more restrained Neoclassical style inspired by the discoveries made at Herculaneum and Pompeii, that would come to be known as the Louis XVI style.

Although highly influenced by what was happening in France, Gustav’s interpretation of Neoclassism resulted in an even more subtle style, not to be confused with simple, however. Characterized by straight lines, tapered legs, beveled corners, and gold leaf, Gustavian style was initially found only in royal palaces. As the style became better known it became more popular in the homes of average Swedes, albeit with less expensive woods and paint replacing the gold leaf. Paint, which had always been popular in Swedish furniture, took on a life of its own with the Gustavian syle, finding its expression in finishes of various forms such as faux marble, stenciling and a wide variety of pastels. These less expensive materials and techniques helped make the Gustavian style commonplace in 19th century Sweden.

The Gustavian period, which begins in the last quarter of the 18th century, is commonly understood to have ended in 1810. From that point forward, while many of the techniques of the Gustavian period continued to be practiced, they slowly gave way to the richer Napoleonic Empire inspired characteristics of the Karl Johan period that spanned from 1820 to 1845.

Before we take a look at Karl Johan however, let’s take a somewhat closer look at the Gustavian style itself:

• Paint, paint, paint! It's the first thing one thinks about when it comes to Gustavian today. The ubiquitous use of lighter colors had two purposes:
  
  1) Fir trees, which were abundant in Sweden, produce a less expensive and less robust wood than that which carpenters and furniture makers in much of Europe used. As such, paint often disguised the fact that a common wood was being used.
  
  2) It’s dark in Sweden in the winter! The lighter, softer colors seemed to help maximize what light there was, helping to brighten rooms and moods during the very short winter days.
• Tapered legs, reeded doors and panels, beveled sides, and the usual Louis XVI rosettes and stylized leaves on chair / sofa legs. In addition egg and dart motifs as well as running dog patterns on sofa rails. All of these are elements are commonly found on pieces from the Gustavian period and in the Gustavian style.

Of course, the above are just the beginning of a detailed work on what it takes to describe Gustavian style… but this is blog and not a book! And now on to Karl Johan! Karl Johan, formerly Napoleon’s ambassador in Vienna, would become King of Sweden (as Charles XIV John) in 1818 after having served as regent and head of state beginning in 1810. He would rule until his death in 1844. Much in the way Gustav influenced the previous period of Swedish design, Karl Johan would influence the period that would span the following 25 years. In design the pendulum often swings from subdued to rich and back again. Just as Gothic gave way to Renaissance, Gustavian was supplanted by Karl Johan, a slightly richer version of that same Neoclassical style. Just as Gustav toned down the Louis XVI style when he brought it to Sweden, Karl Johan similarly toned down some of the exuberance of Napoleon’s Empire style when he brought it to Sweden.

Here’s a quick look at some of the things that distinguish the Karl Johan style.

• Classical details in abundance. Gilt Bronze details of Classical subject matter. Reclining figures, ladies in various poses, urns, Corinthian capitals, etc.
• Wood. Back is the use of stained and finished wood surfaces. Beautiful veneers of expensive and robust woods, ie; Elm, Mahogany, Birch, and various burl types. Solid wood was also used widely.
• Few drawer pulls! Many Karl Johan chests frustrate owners with the fact that they come with a center keyhole and escutcheon and nothing else, forcing the user to pull the drawer open with the key. Maddening to some!
• Beautiful chair styles. The use of veneers and solid wood on the wonderful armchairs from the Karl Johan period very much set them apart from the previous style.
• Saber legs. Another classical detail. Some armchairs combine both saber and Louis style legs, further confusing the buying public. Most of these are not from the period, but late 19th century copies. Many are extremely well done.

Of course this isn't meant to be an exhaustive or detailed description of all the styling cues of either period in Swedish furniture making... we’ve really only scratched the surface! Here’s the thing… where you have people working with creativity and spontaneity, sometimes it’s difficult to "pigeon hole" items definitively into one period or the other. There are no hard and fast rules that command that a pieces is absolutely of one style or the other. Nonetheless, despite the overlap and a lack of an absolute distinction between the two styles, they do represent two largely different periods in Swedish design and we are happy that we come across pieces from both regularly.

So now… which is which?  Both are painted, so that doesn’t help…  The lines are often blurred between the two styles, however, there are some clues:  The Karl Johan on the right has big sturdy feet while the Gustavian piece on the left has narrow, tapered and angled legs.  In addition, the Karl Johan piece has a scalloped bottom rail while the Gustavian piece is all about pure, clean lines.
A detail of the scalloped bottom and heavy foot of our Karl Johan chest.
This one is a bit easier.  The wood finish on the left pretty much gives away that the pair are in the Karl Johan style while the lightly painted chairs on the right are indeed Gustavian.  Additionally, the Karl Johan chairs have saber legs and volute arms while the Gustavian chairs have tapered legs topped with rosettes.  Once again we see the Karl Johan with the curvy lines while the Gustavian has the pure, straight lines and the typical Louis XVI decorative vocabulary.
A close up image of the rosettes and fluted legs of our Gustavian chairs.
In this case the legs don’t give us a clue to the styles as both of these sofas have tapered legs.  There are however some other cues to which style they belong.  The Karl Johan piece on the left has slightly slanted arms and lyre carved slats while the delicate motifs found on the top rail and skirt of the sofa on the right and the simplicity of its lines indicate the Gustavian style.
This image provides a wonderful look at top rail of the Gustavian piece.
And we’ve left the easiest for last!  The finished wood of the table on the left quickly suggests – but doesn’t guarantee – the Karl Johan style while the paint of the table on the right suggests Gustavian.  The Karl Johan’s legs are smooth and clean while the Gustavian table’s legs are fluted and feature rosettes on the knees.
This is the detail of the rosettes and the tapered, fluted legs of the exquisite Gustavian table.