Louis the 16th Style Gilt and Painted Wood Mirror

A Louis XVI style mirror in painted and gilt wood, made in the 19th century. The frame combines painted surfaces with gilt highlights, a treatment common in neoclassical style furniture that brings out mouldings and ornament. Its narrow, vertical format makes it an occasional mirror, suited to a pier between two windows, above a chest of drawers or in an entrance hall.

The Louis XVI style, which emerged in the 1770s, marked a return to Antiquity after the curves of the Rococo: straight lines, measured proportions and ornament drawn from classical architecture. The 19th century revived this vocabulary extensively, valuing its restrained elegance. This mirror belongs to that tradition and sits as comfortably with antique furniture as with a more contemporary interior.