André-Charles Boulle

André Charles BOULLE, a cabinetmaker of genius

A cabinetmaker of genius, André Charles BOULLE would be The furniture maker of King Louis XIV. Born to a cabinetmaker father, he was received as a master cabinetmaker in 1664. He was also a bronze caster, a draughtsman and a sculptor. In 1666, at the age of 24, he set up his own workshop.

His work was noticed by Colbert, superintendent of the King’s buildings, arts and manufactories, who invited him to settle in the gallery of the Louvre, which at the time was a suite of prestigious workshops where artists were housed at the Crown’s expense (a practice dating from Henri IV). He received the title of first cabinetmaker to the King.

He gave his name to a particular type of marquetry made of tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl and brass, although he was not its inventor. The technique was probably created by Dutch craftsmen in the second quarter of the 17th century, as was marquetry veneering, used by the Florentines at the beginning of the 16th.

Boulle’s creations are sumptuous, their motifs often borrowed from the ornamentalist Jean Berain, designer of the King’s chamber and cabinet.

The marquetry technique:

This is an extremely difficult technique, which consists of cutting together, following a preliminary design, a sheet of pewter and a sheet of tortoiseshell glued face to face. Once separated, the pieces of tortoiseshell and pewter fit into one another and form two similar, but not identical, decors. In one, the pewter forms the ground and the tortoiseshell the decoration: this is what is known as première partie marquetry. In the other, the tortoiseshell forms the ground and the pewter the decoration: this is contre-partie marquetry. This is why most Boulle furniture was made in pairs.