The concept of collecting antique furniture is a subject that should be understood better in Spain, where the acquisition of high quality furniture during the last 4 centuries, has been the priviledge of a small minority with abundant resources. Better said, this minority would buy furniture from known and often famous furniture makers who although they used good techniques of fabrication, but very few understood the artistic guidelines of creating a fine piece of furniture, as developed in other European countries. The exact opposite occurred with paintings in Spain, where there existed in abundance some of the most important painters of Europe and the world.

Therefore this small minority kept buying from the most renowned furniture makers of each period, with the exception of the public that could travel, purchase and import fine pieces and thus start acquiring the taste of the fine points of furniture. Some furniture makers also were lucky in working in workshops of other countries and thus import their skills to Spain.

Collecting antique furniture should follow mostly the same norms of collecting in general. The norms of collecting dictate that the collector should always try to collect:

• First and foremost the best possible example of what is being collected, and not necessarily the greatest number or items. Collecting should not be an addiction.
• The best possible example also means that it should be in the best possible condition and the most original. When parts, originality or authenticity is absent, it is a bad investment.
• It has been proven that when a collectable item was expensive when first made, it will continue being expensive through the years or centuries and expensive as well as a collectible. As a collector’s guideline this should also probably be the most desirable as a collectible.
• Scarcity is definitely an important factor in collecting, however, as we have said in the “5 golden rules for purchasing antique furniture” in this Blog, scarcity should be related to Beauty and Desirability. An item may be very rare but if it is not attractive or desirable, it is a bad investment. After all, who wants to keep looking an “ugly duckling” all the time?

Daily we are offered  “antique furniture collections”, which are neither antique nor attractive nor investment quality. Investment quality does not necessarily mean “expensive”. It means that when some day one wants to sell, the retail value of an item is internationally recognized and the seller can recover one’s investment if not realize a profit.

The Biedermeier furniture style is inspired by the French Empire  style with modification by incorporating local German traditions  particularly old peasant furniture. It is simple and elegant, consisting  of clean smooth lines and honest, functional form. The pieces are  generally designed on a small scale with graceful and elegant forms,  devoid of unnecessary embellishment. Biedermeier furniture craftsman  eschewed most forms of ornament, preferring simplicity. When there is  ornamentation such as carving there is little detail in the work,  although by around 1830 more detailed carving became prevalent. The main  decorative motifs employed by the Biedermeier era craftsmen included  simple forms of swans, sphinx, dolphins, lion paws, acanthus, lyres, and  garlands. Early pieces were traditionally crafted from dark mahogany  woods with a tendency towards Empire styling. In later years,  Biedermeier furniture was generally fashioned from lighter woods such as  birch, grained ash, pear and cherry, and exhibited a clearly more  whimsical styling. In the middle class homes the furniture was designed  according to the uses of day to day activities like writing, sewing and  music-each characterized by different furniture, and quite deliberately  separated from the others. This furniture was placed in the same living  room in different corners or even the same furniture had a multi use,  this concept created the Wohninsel, or the ‘living island’.

Prior to 1830, mahogany appeared in Biedermeier furniture and  gradually replaced walnut. The adoption of this imported wood, which was  often given a light finish, caused some craftsmen to apply matching  stains and finishes to pieces made in walnut, pear wood, and Hungarian  ‘watered’ ash. The Viennese craftsmen no longer relied on the French,  German and Italian designers for inspiration. Native products based upon  Directoire and Empire designs were highly original, showing a good  understanding of form, balance and the use of ornament in gilded bronze.  Local timber was used for economy, especially walnut veneer over a soft  wood frame. Inlay served as the main decorative element, featuring the  patterned graining of walnut and often reduced to a light-colored  border. Sometimes, craftsmen used black poplar or bird’s eye maple and  colored woods such as cherry and pear became popular. Cabinetmakers  decorated their furniture with black or gold paint, and often employed  less expensive stamped brass wreaths and festoons rather than bronze for  decorative effect and gilded wooden stars instead of the elaborate  metal ornaments of the Empire style. Sometimes, they chose cheaper, new  materials such as pressed paper. The Biedermeier era produced a wealth  of different types of seating, with a myriad of variations on the basic  scheme of four legs, a seat, and a back. From 1815-1835, Biedermeier  craftsmen discovered that a chair could be given literally hundreds of  different shapes. Upholsterers padded their creations with horse-hair  and covered them with brightly colored velvet and calico. Pleated  fabrics covered furniture, walls, ceilings, and alcoves. By the 1840s  the Biedermeier style became romanticizedstraight lines became curved  and serpentine; simple surfaces became more and more embellished beyond  the natural materials; humanistic form became more fantastic; and  textures became experimental.

The Biedermeier furniture style is inspired by the French Empire style with modification by incorporating local German traditions particularly old peasant furniture. It is simple and elegant, consisting of clean smooth lines and honest, functional form. The pieces are generally designed on a small scale with graceful and elegant forms, devoid of unnecessary embellishment. Biedermeier furniture craftsman eschewed most forms of ornament, preferring simplicity. When there is ornamentation such as carving there is little detail in the work, although by around 1830 more detailed carving became prevalent. The main decorative motifs employed by the Biedermeier era craftsmen included simple forms of swans, sphinx, dolphins, lion paws, acanthus, lyres, and garlands. Early pieces were traditionally crafted from dark mahogany woods with a tendency towards Empire styling. In later years, Biedermeier furniture was generally fashioned from lighter woods such as birch, grained ash, pear and cherry, and exhibited a clearly more whimsical styling. In the middle class homes the furniture was designed according to the uses of day to day activities like writing, sewing and music-each characterized by different furniture, and quite deliberately separated from the others. This furniture was placed in the same living room in different corners or even the same furniture had a multi use, this concept created the Wohninsel, or the ‘living island’.

Prior to 1830, mahogany appeared in Biedermeier furniture and gradually replaced walnut. The adoption of this imported wood, which was often given a light finish, caused some craftsmen to apply matching stains and finishes to pieces made in walnut, pear wood, and Hungarian ‘watered’ ash. The Viennese craftsmen no longer relied on the French, German and Italian designers for inspiration. Native products based upon Directoire and Empire designs were highly original, showing a good understanding of form, balance and the use of ornament in gilded bronze. Local timber was used for economy, especially walnut veneer over a soft wood frame. Inlay served as the main decorative element, featuring the patterned graining of walnut and often reduced to a light-colored border. Sometimes, craftsmen used black poplar or bird’s eye maple and colored woods such as cherry and pear became popular. Cabinetmakers decorated their furniture with black or gold paint, and often employed less expensive stamped brass wreaths and festoons rather than bronze for decorative effect and gilded wooden stars instead of the elaborate metal ornaments of the Empire style. Sometimes, they chose cheaper, new materials such as pressed paper. The Biedermeier era produced a wealth of different types of seating, with a myriad of variations on the basic scheme of four legs, a seat, and a back. From 1815-1835, Biedermeier craftsmen discovered that a chair could be given literally hundreds of different shapes. Upholsterers padded their creations with horse-hair and covered them with brightly colored velvet and calico. Pleated fabrics covered furniture, walls, ceilings, and alcoves. By the 1840s the Biedermeier style became romanticizedstraight lines became curved and serpentine; simple surfaces became more and more embellished beyond the natural materials; humanistic form became more fantastic; and textures became experimental.

SYNOPSIS: Biedermeier es el estilo del diseño de los muebles de Alemania y Austria durante los años 1815-1848. Inspirado en líneas del Imperio, las depura, las simplifica, las populariza y establece nuevos cánones de belleza y elegancia ligados a la practicidad, a la economía y mínimo ornamento. Cuando progresó el período sinembargo, el estilo ha movido desde la rebelión temprana contra el exceso de la era Romántica, a las clases cada vez más prósperas demostrando su nueva abundancia. Muchos diseños únicos fueron creados en Viena. Esto es porque perfeccionaron el uso del material, de la construcción, la originalidad del diseño, y la calidad del trabajo de ebanisteria. Todo estas técnicas el ebanista las tuvo que dominar antes de ser admitido a la liga de ebanistas principales aprobados. Los muebles del período (1815-1830) eran los más elegantes y neoclásicos en su inspiración. También este periodo entregó las formas más originales que la segunda mitad del período (1830-1848) careció siendo influenciado por las varias publicaciones de los estílos de Inglaterra, Francia e Italia.

PULSANDO SOBRE LAS FOTOS SE PUEDEN VER LOS DETALLES DE CADA MUEBLE

 

Las 3 décadas, señalando el fin de las Guerras Napoleónicas, cuando se fundó la Confederación Germana por el Congreso de Viena(1814-1815), hasta la Revolución Europea de 1848-1849, se llama el periodo “Biedermeier” en Europa Central. Durante esta época de cambios tan dramáticos, la media clase luchó contra la burguesía por tener más derechos, mejor gobierno y mejor educación. “Bieder” significa sencillo, y Biedermeier es el estilo señalando la emergente clase media, que quería crear su propio estilo llamado Biedermeier (de ellos para ellos) y se extendió en popularidad en los Países Bajos, y hasta Escandinavia, con algunas modificaciones.

 

 

 

Desde mi punto de vista como anticuario y estudiante del estilo Biedermeier,  el concepto que todos los muebles Biedermeier fueron asequibles a la emergente clase media, es un poco de hipocresía idealista histórica, como todos que existen en la historia de todo el mundo. Los mejores muebles Biedermeier que admiramos actualmente “siempre adornaban y siguen adornando” los palacios y casas más influyentes de su época. Tengo la impresión que la burguesía de esta época tuvo que modificar (no bajar) sus estándares y dejar de lucir su gran opulencia del estilo Imperio o Barroco, posiblemente por la presión de la clase media. Así se crearon muebles que, aunque parecían más sencillos, fueron muebles de muy alto nivel creativo y de ejecución. Los muebles importantes fueron creados por maestros ebanistas reconocidos y licenciados como en el siglo XVIII en Francia. Los aprendices fueron examinados por su maestría de utilización de materiales, construcción, originalidad de diseño, calidad de ebanistería, antes de ser admitidos a la Liga de Licenciados Maestros Ebanistas. Una liga muy exclusiva! Como todos los muebles importantes en todo el mundo, también el mueble Biedermeier de alto nivel fue el privilegio de unos pocos, y es más asequible actualmente durante nuestra era!

 

 

Al principio de la época Biedermeier(1815-1825), los muebles se realizaron principalmente de caoba oscura, y con la influencia del estilo Imperio. Generalmente, antes de 1830, la caoba era la madera más utilizada en el mueble Biedermeier y gradualmente substituido por el nogal. La adopción de caoba, una madera importada,  a la que se solía dar un acabado claro, causó que los ebanistas dieran acabados parecidos a la caoba, a los muebles de nogal, peral, y haya.

 

 

Con el paso del tiempo, los ebanistas Biedermeier empezaron a crear muebles de maderas claras como abedul, haya veteada, peral, cerezo, y  empezaron a enseñar una gran independencia de diseño y estilo, casi arrogante hacia lo establecido.

 

 

Los ebanistas Vieneses, ya no buscaban inspiración en los muebles Franceses e Italianos, y aunque muebles de la temprana época todavía  llevaban elementos de los estilos Directoire e Imperio con sus típicos adornos de bronce dorado, fueron de diseños muy originales, luciendo su alto entendimiento de forma y proporciones.

 

Unos años después, las maderas autóctonas fueron utilizadas principalmente por sus precios más asequibles, especialmente chapa de nogal sobre pino o pinotéa. Filetes y  marquetería de formas lineales fueron los elementos principales de adorno, como también la coordinación de vetas de nogal y otras maderas, dejando sus partes más claras para los extremos de los muebles.

 

A veces los ebanistas utilizaron álamo negro,  ojo de pájaro de arce,  y maderas de color como cerezo o peral que se hicieron muy populares, y también adornaron sus creaciones con pintura negra (ebanización) o de oro, como también adornos de calamina fundida y dorada, en vez de los bronces elaborados al estilo Imperio.

 

 

La época Biedermeier también produjo una gran riqueza de diferentes tipos de asientos, con unas infinitas variaciones de la forma básica de “4 patas, un asiento, y un respaldo”. Desde 1815 hasta 1835, los ebanistas Biedermeier descubrieron que se podrían dar cientos de diferentes formas a “la silla”. Tapiceros también utilizaron su creatividad utilizando crin y varios colores de tela, especialmente terciopelo. Antes de 1830, cuando se utilizaba la talla como adorno, era talla no muy elaborada.

 

A partir de 1830 hasta 1848, el fin de la principal época Biedermeier,  la talla tomó forma más dominante y elaborada. Los ebanistas empezaron a incorporar diseños de tallas más “románticas” como cisnes, esfinges, delfines, garras de león, hojas de acanto, liras y guirnaldas.

 

 

El estilo Biedermeier fue protagonista de nuevo en las exposiciones de arte en Viena en
el año 1896. Los visitantes de la exposición fueron tan impresionados y influenciados por este estilo tan glamoroso, que ahí empezó la época de Biedermeier Renacimiento y se hizo extremadamente popular por los ebanistas Europeos.

 

Este periodo duró hasta la época Art Deco, que la influenció directamente, como también influenció el estilo Bauhaus.

 

Más detalles sobre el estilo Biedermeier en breve.