Bergère

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A French Empire bergère by Pierre-Antoine Bellange, c. 1815. Gilded beech, gesso, with 1996 reproduction silk jacquard based upon an 1815 Tassinari et Chatel document. Located in the Blue Room of the White House.

A bergère is an enclosed upholstered chair with a backrest and armrests.

Appearing first in the Regence and Rococo periods in France in the eighteenth century, the form continues in a more architectural rectilinear stye in the Louis XV, Louis XVI, Directoire, and French and American Empire styles.

A bergère includes a loose, but tailored, cushion, upholstered back, upholstered seat, exposed wooden frame; arms may be exposed, manchette style or upholstered. The frame of the chair is exposed wood but the seat apron is upholstered also.

Types of bergères include: bergère en gondole and bergère confessionale. The bergère en gondole has a horse-shaped back, whereas the bergère confessionale is more rectilinear with a squared back and often made of mahogany or gilded beech.

An all-upholstered low armchair that usually has an exposed wood frame and enclosed sides. The upholstered arms are shorter than the length of the seat, and a soft loose pillow rests on a fabric-covered seat platform. It was introduced in the Louis XV period and was also popular in the Louis XVI period.

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[edit] References

Abbott, James Archer. Jansen Furniture. Acanathus: 2007. ISBN 978-0926494459.
Pegler, Martin. The Dictionary of Interior Design. Fairchild Publications: 1983. ASIN B0006ECV48.