Chair (Sedia) Painted with Figures
furniture maker
Unknown
Date1725-1749
Place MadeRome, Lazio, Italy, Europe
MediumPainted walnut
Dimensions109 x 52.5 x 45.5 cm (42 15/16 x 20 11/16 x 17 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberF15e2.9
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThe slats on this set of chairs are delightfully painted with various figures in exotic ancient Middle Eastern, African, or Asian garb. Although painted furniture is often connected with Venice, the chairs possess an unusual mixture of stylistic forms and decorative designs, and may have been made in central Italy, perhaps Lucca or Rome.
Isabella Stewart Gardner first placed the chairs in her Chinese Room, where they accorded beautifully with the eclectic mixture of Japanese and Chinese objects, as well as nineteenth-century paintings.They are now arranged among painted cassone and altarpieces. Gentile Bellini’s Seated Scribe, displayed in the same gallery, strengthens the links between the arts of Italy and the East.
Source: Fausto Calderai, "Chairs," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 129.
Id728854
Last Updated8/14/24
EmbARK ObjectID14514
Original NumberF15c1-s
Source ID3283
