PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Historic types of wallpaper and decorative schemes of interiors
1.2. WALLPAPER IN
18TH-CENTURY INTERIORS
The Rococo period brought with it an increased need for intimacy
and personal comfort, which is why the decorative objects
and furniture became lighter in scale and weight, and sumptuous
enfilades were replaced by small, intimate apartments. The
decoration of the era was characterized by the use of rocaille
and exotic chinoiserie and singeries motifs, and an interest in
exotic and foreign cultures and ornaments, such as Chinese,
Persian and Turkish.
Although there was only a loose hierarchy of rooms, the
rooms descended in importance and size, from public rooms
to informal ones. The function of each room was not only designated
by its location in the appartement and its size, but also
by the ambience created by decoration. For example, a parlour
for dinner guests to assemble in after leaving the dining room
had to have cheerful decoration, to offer a pleasant background
for conversation and table games. 50
According to the classical order, the walls of a Rococo room
were divided into three parts: the dado, field and entablature, a
space for a frieze or a cornice. The filling area was split into sections
by symmetrically arranged panels, which were framed by
thin and low mouldings. (Fig. 4) A prominent role in the decoration
scheme was played by the over-door or over-mantel panels,
called trumeaux. 51 Since asymmetry was represented by the
use of abundant ornaments, balance needed to be maintained
in the total composition. To create symmetry, the decoration
of opposing walls reflected each other, i.e. elements that could
break the symmetry, such as doors and closets, needed to be hidden
in the setting. Besides wood, the centres of the panels could
be filled with mirrors, textiles (e.g. silks, damasks and velvets),
tapestries, painted canvas or wallpaper. 52 (Fig. 5)
50
Richard A. Etlin, Symbolic Space: French Englightenment Architecture and Its Legacy
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), 132.
51
Blakemore, History of Interior Design and Furniture, 214.
52
Ibidem.
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