Biedermeier Simplicity Invention
Central and northern Europe had a period of relative stability and peace between the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the series of revolutions that erupted in 1848. The art connected with this time, as well as the culture that gave rise to it, have been known as “Biedermeier,” a term invented afterward that encompasses both nostalgias for the past and criticism of it.
Although collectors and curators have long been fascinated by Biedermeier art, the style and era have escaped detailed description. Biedermeier has been variably classified as a branch of romanticism, a late expression of both neoclassicism and romanticism, a distinct self-contained style, and a precursor to mid-nineteenth-century realism. Dates for the Biedermeier period have also been challenging to come by. Some art historians finish the era in 1835, with the death of Austrian Emperor Franz I, while others end it in 1848, with the beginning of a revolution.
Biedermeier originated in the late eighteenth century. Some early works from the turn of the century foreshadow the heyday of the finest form of Biedermeier, which occurred about 1820. Although some believe the era lasted as long as thirty-three years, the greatest examples of the style belong from ten years between 1815 and 1825 when new ideas about private life began to permeate throughout central and northern Europe. The basic building elements of this aesthetic vision that foreshadowed modernism are simplicity, purity of line, and geometry of form.
Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity, which is currently on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum, provides a clear definition of the aesthetic principles that inform the Biedermeier style around 1820—the period of the style’s greatest purity—principles that would have a continuing resonance for the European Arts and Crafts movement and the Wiener Werkstätte style at the turn of the century, and even for designers and artists today. This is the first major exhibition in North America to focus on Biedermeier-era furniture, decorative artifacts, and fine art (1815–1830).
A new study challenges the widely held belief that Biedermeier’s austere, plain designs just represented bourgeois restraint in taste and the period’s tired postwar economics. The aristocracy was primarily responsible for the rejection of lavish adornment in favor of proportion and practicality, which was only subsequently adopted by the newly rising bourgeoisie. According to Hans Ottomeyer, a renowned scholar on the Biedermeier period, “the cult of simplicity evolved itself as an aesthetic concept in opposition to the sumptuous style of the late eighteenth century.” Whoever could afford it received fresh ornamentation in the new unadorned style.”
Around 1820, new forms of cabinet furniture, sitting furniture, and tables debuted, and their quick progress toward simplicity of design and shape is impressive. The most ornate example of this was the writing cabinet, which was both utilitarian and a work of art. Two Vienna writing cabinets (Figs. 1-2) from around 1810-1815 demonstrate the complete range of design alternatives accessible on the furniture market.
Both are premium lyre-shaped items made of rare woods and veneers. In its sculptural embellishment and gilding, the first writing cabinet represents the remaining influence of the French Empire style, whilst the second depends on the inherent persuasive qualities of the wood grain and the geometric surface pattern generated by the contrasting ebonized banding.
Veneered surfaces in Biedermeier furniture often communicate form and shape through shine, color, structure, and embellishment. According to Ottomeyer, the veneered surface is “analogous to a costly, colorful clothing with an attractive material structure that is pulled over the body, concealing more than it shows.”
A deceptively simple writing cabinet ascribed to the Munich court cabinetmaking business of Daniel shows how a vertically streaked cherry veneer in a symmetrical pattern enriches the cabinet’s architectonic shape and scale. The absence of traditional furniture fittings and the substitution ofconventionall brass-framed keyholes with diamond-shaped intarsia add to the overall appearance of simplicity.
Seating furniture innovations are undoubtedly the most well-known development of the Biedermeier period when settees and a veritable flood of new chair designs appeared throughout central and northern Europe. Lighter, movable chairs that could be moved about space as required gave furniture designers the most freedom to express themselves and explore. The harsh, curved shapes of the Bohemian chair from Prague represent the pinnacle of Biedermeier’s foreshadowing of Modernism.
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