Defossé & Karth
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Defossé & Karth was a French wallpaper company.[1] Established in Paris before the French Revolution, the firm produced numerous designs over many years. Their wallpaper was installed in both European and American houses, especially those in New England and the South.[2]
History[edit]
The design firm of Defossé and Karth was founded in 1851. Their decorative designs were inspired by the Barbizon School, in particular the works of the 18th century painter Jean-Baptiste Corot and the 19th century painter Jean-Francois Millet.[3]
Design work[edit]
Their most famous work is the Cupid and Psyche series of patterns, which was designed for Napoleon I and inspired by the drawings of the French painter, Jacques-Louis David.[2] In 1928, Art Digest magazine describes this design as being "executed in lovely soft shades of grey". The review describes their scenic wallpaper as fashionable and in vogue with French furnishings of the 18th and 19th centuries.[4]
Other well-known patterns were Old Paris, Gardens of Versailles, Scenes on the Seine, among others.[2] Their design, L'Eden was exhibited in London in 1862, and was noted as a "technical achievement".[5]
Awards[edit]
In 1867, the firm received a gold medal for a large landscape wallpaper design produced in association with the German firm, Rommel of Berlin.[6]
Collections[edit]
Several samples of their work are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston[7] and the Yale University Art Gallery[8] and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ The Carpet Trade Review. Thomas A. Kennett. 1878.
- ^ a b c Robie, Virginia (September 1917). "Early Fall Furnishings". The Art World. 2 (6): 562–564. doi:10.2307/25588114. JSTOR 25588114. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ Light, Michele. "Rooms with a View: Landscape & Wallpaper". The City Review. Art/Museums. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "In the Realm of Decoration and the Antique: David Wallpaper". The Art Digest. May 1928. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ Saunders, Gill (2002). Wallpaper in Interior Decoration. Victoria and Albert Museum. p. 94. ISBN 9781851773466. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ Fischbach, Frriedrich (1876). "On the Manufacture of Paperhangings". The Workshop. 9 (8): 114. doi:10.2307/25586852. JSTOR 25586852. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Defossé & Karth: Wallpaper Sample". mfah.org.
- ^ "American Decorative Arts". Yale University Art Gallery. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "Defosse et Karth". Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design Smithsonian. Retrieved 27 January 2022.