Pair Of Swedish Candelabra

Pair of candelabras with two sconces in gilded and chased bronze and decorated with crystal pendants. The candelabra are surmounted by a pinecone. The binets are decorated with palm leaves. The shaft is composed of shortened columns, one in white marble adorned with golden chains and crystal pendants, the other in black marble. The candelabras rest on a circular base mounted on a square white marble plinth. Swedish work Louis XVI period Usual restorations H. 48.5 x W. 17 cm The pair of candelabra that we present to you here is a perfect example of the evolution of the forms of the latter from the 1770s. Swedish, these candelabra have a definite French influence. Thus, the complex, animated and natural forms of the Rocaille are succeeded by antique forms: circular and square models are appearing, and the angles become more and more salient in these years. The candelabras are no exception, as this pair proves: the stem in shortened columns supported by a circular base in the shape of a torus and a plinth, itself supported by a marble base, is characteristic of the neoclassical evolution of this end of the 18th century inspired by ancient forms. We cannot mention this pair of candelabra without mentioning the artistic relations between France and Sweden. These do not date from the 18th century: throughout the Middle Ages, we find exchanges between these two Catholic countries through Cistercian monks. The construction of cloisters and churches in Sweden was thus regular, at least until the advent of the Protestant Reformation, which began in the first half of the 16th century in Sweden, during the reign of King Gustav I Vasa (reign : 1523-1560). Patronage no longer emanating from the Church, royalty took over. It was under Gustave I, on the occasion of the renovation of his palace, that the first name of a French artist was mentioned. This French influence will only increase over the decades, the 18th century seeing the rise in influence of one of the most Francophile family of Swedish artists: the Ticino. Nicodème Tessin the younger was the first member of this family to employ the services of French artists, such as Bernard Fouquet and René Chauveau, as part of the renovations of the royal palace in Stockholm, which began in 1688. Carl Gustaf Tessin, son of Nicodemus, was also one of the most influential ambassadors of Swedish art in France: he left Sweden in 1714, at the age of 20, to make his first stay in Paris to complete his studies. He returned to Paris between 1728 and 1729 as an ambassador to gain French support in a war between Sweden and Russia, but his real interest lay in art rather than politics. He thus became friends with a number of French artists of the time, such as Chardin and Boucher, from whom he obtained a certain number of works. Responsible for decorating the Palace of Stockholm, a task inherited from his father on his death in 1728, he was inspired by his way of working: by employing French artists, such as the sculptors Michel Lelièvre and Pierre David, or the painters Thomas- Raphaël Taraval and Nicolas Deslaviers, who decorated it in the style we know today as the “Louis XV” style. Relations between France and Sweden are also known by the memory of political relations with the Francophile Queen Christine of Sweden in the 17th century, as well as through literature, and in particular by that of Voltaire, who wrote the History of Charles XII, King of Sweden, published in 1731.