Gustavian Style

グスタヴィアン様式 / 1770s–1790s / Style / Furniture and Interiors

Swedish neoclassicism as it took shape under Gustav III, who reigned from 1771 to 1792. Its model was the formal classicism of the Louis XVI style, and the king visited Versailles and then brought French craftspeople in to work at the Swedish royal palace. What makes it a style of its own is substitution, since domestically produced glass stood in for costly materials, and small clear glass beads did the work that carved rock crystal did in France.

Gustavian Style — Sturehov Castle, the Green Room, 1781 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Holger.Ellgaard
Sturehov Castle, the Green Room, 1781 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Holger.Ellgaard
Gustavian Style — Marieberg manufactory, tiled stove, 1780s, Sturehov Castle, the Yellow Room — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Svante.tiren
Marieberg manufactory, tiled stove, 1780s, Sturehov Castle, the Yellow Room — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Svante.tiren
Gustavian Style — Attributed to Jonas Hultsten, Gustavian commode, c. 1773–1797 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0 · © Sailko
Attributed to Jonas Hultsten, Gustavian commode, c. 1773–1797 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0 · CC BY 3.0 · © Sailko

At a glance

Visual cues

  • A reserved neoclassical outline copied directly from Louis XVI forms
  • Small clear glass beads standing in for carved rock crystal drops
  • A little cobalt blue glass set among otherwise colourless glass
  • Gilt metal chains and mounts left visible as the structure holding the glass

Best used for

  • Separating a Nordic interior from a French court one, starting with the light fittings
  • Working out how to swap an expensive material for a cheaper local one without losing rank

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Dictionary entry

Type
Objects carry no lettering. Where a room name or label is needed, set a fine roman small and place it on undecorated ground.
Composition
Keep the symmetrical neoclassical frame and build height by stacking tiers. Hold ornament inside the silhouette so restraint of form comes first.
Material
Use locally made glass in place of carved luxury material. Build mainly from colourless glass beads, add a little cobalt blue, and link it with gilt metal.
Caution
Chasing French court opulence through sheer quantity loses the point, which is holding rank while substituting a cheaper local material.
Further study
Louis XVI style objects and Swedish ones placed side by side, and where the form is the same and where it is simplified / the proportion of clear glass to cobalt glass / how far across the range of objects Swedish domestic glass reached

Related entries

Often confused with

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