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France,
circa 1750. “vernis Martin” and gilt bronze 8 day-going,
Ferdinand
Berthoud à Paris, circa 1760. The word cartel probably
came from the Italian "cartello", a term applied to an object fixed onto
the wall. An ornamental piece particularly suited to an interior decoration,
the cartel was placed either directly on the wall or on a pedestal fixed
to the wall. Housing the clock and protecting its mechanism, cartel cases
were made of similar materials and decorated in colors in harmony with
the other furnishings. National styles began to develop from about 1650 onward. France, in particular, was one of the first countries to develop a distinctive style of its own, one which was to dominate Europe for some time to come. In France, artists, sculptors, cabinet-makers, gilders, bronze casters, engra-vers, chiselers, and many other artisans, were given a unique opportunity to exercise their craft under royal and aristocratic patronage. The "Horlogers du
Roi" were privileged clockmakers who benefited from the protection of
the King of France and his court. This situation was instrumental in encouraging
the develop-ment and growth of the clockmaking industry and related professions
in France. The initial fashion for interior clocks began under the reign of Louis XIII (1610-1643): as the use of watches became more widespread, the small portable clocks in fashion until then became less necessary, and artisans’ attention could be devoted to the making of larger clocks. Being larger, they were a favorable terrain for decorative experimentation, and being "sedentary" - that is, fixed to the wall – they readily lent themselves to a decorative usage. These clocks soon spread rapidly throughout France, being adapted to harmonize with the various furniture styles of the period. An important change occurred around 1657, when Christiaan Huygens, continuing the research of Galileo, first adapted a pendulum to a clock, which was made to his specifications by Solomon Coster, a watchmaker and compatriot of Huygens from The Hague. The pendulum afforded much greater precision than had been possible with the "foliot", to the extent that the addition of a minute hand became possible. Clocks with pendulums soon spread throughout Europe. Not merely a great technical impro-vement, this change also modified people’s perceptions of clock- and watchmaking. As Diderot and d’Alembert re-marked: "Until Huygens, horo-logy could be considered a mechanical art which required only craftsmanship, but his application of geometry and "mechanics" to this art trans-formed it into a science." With the reign of Louis XIV, the decorative aspect of clocks became supreme. The many artisans and artists working for the glory and under the patronage of the Sun-King contributed to the style that was to contribute to France’s glory at the end of the 17th century. Certain privileged artisans were given lodgings by the king: André Charles Boulle, the celebrated artist in marquetry, was among them, as were clockmakers such as Gilles Martinot, Augustin François Bidault, and Jacques Thuret.
Louis XIV clocks were richly decorated with Boulle marquetry and ornamental bronzes depicting themes often suggestive of power and glory: Apollo on his chariot, Chronos, the three Parques. Although certain clocks of the period were placed on a piece of furniture, many others were destined to be placed on a bracket fixed to the wall – these are examples of the Louis XIV wall bracket clocks, or "cartels sur console murale", in French. When Louis XIV died in 1715, his great-grandson Louis XV, next in line to the throne, was only five. Until he came of age, the kingdom was ruled by Louis XIV’s nephew, the Regent, Philippe d’Orléans. During the Regency (1715-1723) an important change in style gradually occurred. Just as the period was a political and social parenthesis between the reign of Louis XIV and that of Louis XV, it also represented a transitional period in art, from the architectural rigor of the first era – of which the typical horological representation was the rectangular "Religieuse" clock with its strict lines and ceremonious decor - to the exuberant rococo style of the second, which reached its apogee with the Louis XV cartel. The Regency style contained all the features of the future Louis XV style, but in a latent form. During this period the bracket cartel clock remained symmetrical in form, but the straight lines of the Louis XIV clock began to melt, giving way to gentler, more curving shapes, often referred to as the "violin" silhouette. The copper, ebony, and tortoiseshell marquetry of the previous era, made way for wood veneering in rosewood, kingwood, amaranth and "bois de violette". The cases were ornamented with finely chiseled gilt bronze. Only the wall bracket retained the architectural structure of the earlier period.
To the regal Louis XIV style, with its vast halls and monumental staircases, succeeded a more intimate style, one which favored small and exquisite boudoirs, gentler lines, delicate decoration that sought to charm rather than impress. In the smaller-dimensioned rooms, wall clocks held an important function, not only as an instrument for telling time, but as a decorative object "par excellence". Around 1730, in the early years of the reign of Louis XV, the Regency style began to evolve into the rococo style with its asymmetrical forms, scrolls, curves and shell shapes. Derived from the word "rocaille" (referring to the convoluted, asymmetrical shape of rocks and seashells), the rococo style was truly French, truly distinctive, and possessed an undeniable charm. The Louis XV style is characterized by flowing lines, energetic movement, and a certain penchant for imaginative decorative themes – mythological figures such as gods and goddesses and chimeras, usually surrounded by scrolling motifs and flora and fauna. In a reversal of the Louis XIV style, it is the decor which determines the form, and indeed often overpowers it, resulting in a surprising and delightful asymmetry. Technique followed decoration as, towards 1750, it became possible to produce round movements which were much better adapted to the more fanciful, asym-metrical new style than the rectangular movement typical of Louis XIV clocks. At first, cartel clocks were equipped with an enamel dial composed of cartouches, one for each hour and often a larger, central one. This fragmentation of the dial was made necessary by technical considerations, for it was only around 1740-1750 that the technique allowing enamel dials to be produced in one piece was developed. The hands were often richly decorated, and Roman chapters were used to mark the hours, with Arabic numerals for minutes. Dials and movements were stamped with the name of clock-makers — famous ones included the Balthazar family and Jean-Baptiste Albert Baillon, clockmaker to Marie Leczinska in 1751.
In this supremely decorative style, clock-makers collaborated closely with cabinet-makers and bronze workers. Case styles were greatly influenced by furniture makers, the most famous of all during this period being Charles Cressent (1685-1768). Cartels fol-lowed the evolution of furniture design, being made out of the same materials and in the same style — tortoiseshell and copper marquetry with incrustation of precious woods, and green-stained horn, for example. Yet the most characteristic material in Louis XV cartels remains bronze. Though most bronze workers remain anonymous, a few prestigious names are known, among them Philippe Caffieri (1714-1774) and François-Thomas Germain (1726-1791). The work of ornamentalists was also of prime importance in the development of new trends in form and design. The ornamental projects of Gilles Marie Oppenordt (1672-1742), Juste Aurèle Meissonier (1693-1750) and Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754) were among the most influential in the development of rococo style. Bronze ornaments, in the form of floral motifs, foliage and rocailles, were every-where, particularly being used to accent the contours. Also popular were Chinese motifs, as was vernis Martin lacquer, a technique initiated by the Martin brothers, whose workshop was elevated to the status of "manufacture royale", in imitation of the Oriental lacquers which were used to decorate furniture, but were not adaptable to small surfaces such as those of clocks. The age of fanciful cartels came to an end with the Louis XVI style. After the decorative paroxysm of the rococo style, sobriety came once again into fashion. With the emergence of a more classical style, the rocailles and allegories of the age of Louis XV seemed excessive. The new, more restrained, decorative style called for architectural forms and rational design. The Louis XV cartel remains, however, a symbolic apogee in the history of decorative clocks, a high point which marks the perfect marriage between horology and the opulent and prestigious French decorative tradition.
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