July 2026
The Louis XVI style: the return of the straight line
After the curves of Louis XV, Antiquity becomes the reference again: fluting, rosettes and tapered legs.
The Louis XVI style was born of weariness with curves. Around 1770 furniture recovers the right angle, fronts flatten and the structure becomes legible at first glance.
The decorative vocabulary changes with it. Tapered fluted legs, square die blocks, rosettes, beading, crossed ribbons and Greek-key friezes replace the asymmetric rocaille of the previous reign.
That rigour explains the style longevity: a Louis XVI armchair slips effortlessly into a contemporary interior, where a rocaille console demands a deliberate staging.
