In the 17th century, active importation of various porcelain products from China, original lacquer paintings and other expensive, very decorative examples of decorative art began to our country. Among Europeans, such products quickly became fashionable and aroused great enthusiasm, which gave impetus to the emergence of a special style in the interior - chinoiserie, which means "Chinese".
This style quickly developed, and in various variations lasted for about two centuries, and it combined samples of both Chinese and Japanese art. They could even be present in one work.
Chinoiserie style in modern times
Experts in this field argue that the modern style of chinoiserie is fundamentally different from the traditional Chinese style.This is partly due to the fact that modern chinoiserie is designed artificially by interior designers. When creating such interiors, the designer is limited only by his own imagination. That is, a lot of different decor and accessories and all kinds of pieces of furniture that imitate the Chinese style were created in large quantities. However, in our time, chinoiserie can be easily combined with any modern style direction.
Since its inception, this style has gradually adapted to the trends of a particular country, fashion, but at the same time, the general motives of chinoiserie remained unchanged. Therefore, even in a modern style, you can often see the silhouettes of Chinese temples, Chinese-style images of birds, the finest expensive Chinese porcelain and imitation bamboo, and a number of other materials that resemble China.
Interior features in the style of chinoiserie
The main distinguishing feature of the interior design in this Chinese style is the use of unique Chinese ornaments when decorating the walls. Widespread wallpapers depicting birds, various dragons, snakes and other symbols of Chinese mythology.
- Paintings were used to decorate Chinese-style walls with various symbols such as wealth, prosperity, or happiness. It is also possible that Chinese mountains, bats, overseas flowers are depicted in the paintings.
- Initially, the technology for making Chinese-style wallpaper from expensive silk was too complicated and expensive. The first wall coverings were delivered to Europe from China. For the first time in Europe, Chinese products were brought by the French. For the decor of the houses, the most luxurious materials were used, which were painted by hand.
- At that time, it was customary to decorate only the upper half of the walls with a canvas.For the rest, a plinth made of stone or wood was used.
In the future, masters from Europe, taking the Chinese style as a basis in their work, learned how to make more affordable home decor in the Chinese style. The main feature of chinoiserie is the luxury of the materials that are used to create the interior. France for the first time became a fan of the Chinese style, which is still noticeable in interior design. Nowadays, chinoiserie is characterized by the use of Chinese-style furniture and red color in the interior.
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