The Dornau-Sarcus Exhibition at the Château de Bussy-Rabutin

In the early 19th century, a way of life influenced by the new bourgeois values began to take hold in Europe. Domestic life centred on the home and family life, with a constant focus on comfort and an apparent simplicity in décor and the arts.

Paradoxically, aristocratic, royal and princely families joined in this craze. This trend found its culmination in the Austrian ‘Biedermeier’ style. This term, coined in the late 19th century, was used rather pejoratively to describe the pursuit of a form of intimacy centred on interests deemed trivial, not without a touch of satire.

The period defined by the Biedermeier style, 1815–1830, coincided with that of the Restoration in France. Each with their own specific characteristics, European aristocratic circles after the Congress of Vienna did indeed adopt a similar way of life. The private sphere was clearly distinct from public life. This separation was reflected in domestic life through simpler décor, sometimes driven by a desire for domestic economy. Louis XIV himself, as he grew older, had sought to distinguish his family life – in his private apartments or at Trianon – from the system of public representation he had established. His successors continually sought to protect their privacy. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (1717–1780) was vigilant in maintaining a family life, which was no doubt the inspiration behind Marie Antoinette’s constant desire to carve out a personal life of her own choosing, free from the constraints of court life.

The revolutionary years reinforced the aristocracy’s need to cultivate a sense of exclusivity. Living spaces characterised by a ‘plain domestic neoclassicism’, as described by Mario Praz, were accessible only to the closest circle of friends and family.

French furniture from the Restoration period shares similarities with Austrian Biedermeier in its use of fine materials, but features classical forms and a restraint in ornamentation.

Yet a distinct modernity is evident in the lines, colours and craftsmanship of certain pieces of furniture. Technical innovations found their way into the architecture and interior design of both city flats and country houses.

The Château de Bussy-Rabutin offers a little-known example of this. Owned by Count Roger de Bussy-Rabutin (1618–1693), a cousin of Madame de Sévigné, the château was successively restored by Jacques Dornau (c. 1780–1832), a local dignitary and mayor of Bussy-le-Grand, and subsequently by the Count of Sarcus (1781–1875), who undertook its preservation.

Jacques Dornau, owner of the château from 1818 until his death in 1832, launched a major restoration programme. He fitted out the ground floor of the château’s central wing with reception rooms of a highly modern design. The dining room and drawing room were restored in 2023.

Dornau’s inventory of 1832 served as the basis for the restoration. It is the only known record for this period. The décor in the drawing room and dining room still retained the layout and ornamentation intended by Dornau. This inventory is precise with regard to the textiles in the drawing room:

‘eight mahogany chairs upholstered in cross-woven toile de jouy with a cashmere rosette in the centre, fitted with their white cotton covers’

“six armchairs in all, similar to the chairs, and a sofa with two cushions, likewise similar”

“three small footstools matching the aforementioned pieces of furniture”

…

“four pairs of muslin curtains with white fringes, surmounted by two drapes of red toile de jouy with silk trimmings, two gilded curtain rods and four curtain hooks”.

This style of textile décor was very much in vogue around 1820–1840. The Empire style’s classical and martial motifs gradually gave way to a more botanical and decidedly Oriental-inspired style. The term ‘cashmere’ remains rather vague. It naturally evokes the shawls from the East that had been very much in vogue since the start of the century. The success of Alexander I of Russia’s entry into Paris in 1815, followed by the support for Greek independence in 1822, probably fuelled a renewed interest in the Levant amongst the Parisian population.

The grandest homes were furnished with textiles featuring this type of pattern. The most luxurious were woven from silk. Many grand residences also made use of Toile de Jouy. The most modern and varied patterns were thus available to a wider audience and could be installed by local craftsmen without difficulty. This is probably what was chosen at Bussy.

Prestigious examples are known from the home of Madame Adélaïde and Louis-Philippe at the Château de Randan, from the Duchess of Berry’s home at the Château de Rosny (curtains in her bedroom with a blue ground dotted with yellow and red rosettes) and from Madame du Cayla’s home at the Château de Saint-Ouen (red curtains dotted with yellow rosettes in the ‘red room’).

Unfortunately, this type of textile is rarely preserved. Changed regularly in line with fashion trends and tending to age poorly due to the finishes applied to the fabrics, very few remain in place on chairs. However, the better-preserved silk examples provide insights into how the motifs were arranged. Furthermore, numerous examples of order books exist. The Musée de la Toile de Jouy also holds several fragments in its collections.

According to on-site observations, the wall cladding ruled out the hanging of textiles or paper on battens. The thickness of the panelling still in place did not allow for this arrangement.

In keeping with the practices of the time, wallpaper was probably hung directly onto the wall. In all likelihood, this wallpaper matched the fabrics used to cover the chairs, no doubt with a red background. A small fragment found beneath the mirror in situ confirmed these assumptions.

The furniture on display today comes from the Tuileries Palace, specifically from the apartment of Louise d’Artois (1819–1864), granddaughter of Charles X and future Duchess of Parma. Consisting of a sofa, two wing chairs, four armchairs and two chairs, it was crafted in 1829 by Jean-Pierre Louis, a joiner (who became a master craftsman in 1787), and Denis-François Fémancourt, an upholsterer. It has been complemented by footstools, a fireplace screen and other furniture from the same period, on loan from the Mobilier National.

The dining room features stucco decoration painted in polychrome faux marble using trompe l’œil techniques. The exquisite detail of the capital mouldings bears witness to the quality of the work commissioned by Dornau from Bussy. In 1832, the chairs were made of cherry wood with straw-tufted seats, evoking the romantic settings of understated luxury and serene refinement as seen in the paintings of Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845).

Maurice Dumoulin, *The Château de Bussy-Rabutin*, Paris, Laurens, 1933.

Romantic Interiors: Watercolours 1820–1890, Musée de la Vie Romantique, Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Paris Musées, 2012.

Inventory following the death of Jacques Dornau, 1832 (Côte d’Or Archives – Bussy-Rabutin collection)

Judith Kagan and Sébastien Boudry, The Château de Bussy-Rabutin, Heritage Itinerary, Paris, Éditions du Patrimoine, 2023. 

Hans Ottomeyer, Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Laurie Winters (eds.), *Biedermeier: Vienna and Prague 1815–1830*, Paris, Musée du Louvre, 2007.

Mario Praz, A History of Interior Decoration (The Philosophy of Furnishing), London, Thames & Hudson, 1990.