Art and Architecture Collection > The Empire and Regency Styles > FRANCE – The Empire Style

The Empire Style

Decorative styles often cannot be firmly dated, because their inspiration may be felt earlier than and extend beyond the actual period of their flourishing. The Empire Style is most often given the dates of Napoleon’s reign, 1804-15, but its features developed in the earlier Directoire and Consulat periods (1795-1803), and Empire Style furnishings were still being produced in Europe, particularly in Sweden, into the 1830s. Napoleon’s domination of the world stage until 1815 provided the means for the Empire Style to spread throughout Europe and make its way to artistically Francophile England.

The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789-1815. Kateli le Bourbis, general editor. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989. (3-MML+90-4501)
This catalogue of a major exhibition demonstrates how clothing of the period influenced and affected contemporary furnishings and contributed to the development of the Empire Style.

Aprà, Nietta. Empire Style 1804-1815. New York: World Pub., 1973.(MLES+ 73-1723)
Well-illustrated, terse survey history of the style with emphasis on its chief characteristics and most notable pieces.

Baudot, François. Empire Style. London: Thames & Hudson, 1999. (3-MLES 00-8123)
A review of the style and its achievements in various media.

Barrielle, Jean-François. Le Style Empire. Paris: Flammarion, 1982. (3-MLES 86-1065)
Concise visual survey of the fine and decorative arts of the Directoire (1789-1799) and First Empire (1800-1815).

Deschamps, Madeleine. Empire. New York: Abbeville, 2004. (JQF 04-796)
This handsome plate book relates major social factors, including the personalities of Napoleon and Josephine themselves, directly to the works of the Empire Style. Also shows the extent of the style’s spread to other geographic regions.

Gonzáles-Palacio, Alvar. The French Empire Style. Feltham: Hamlyn, 1970. (3-MLES 86-2087)
Stylishly written evaluation of painting, sculpture, architecture, porcelain, textiles, wallpaper and tapestries, bronzes, silverware and objets d ’art.