Art Institute of Chicago

Looking Glass

Paris or London

Date

c. 1700

Medium

Gessoed and gilded pine, reverse-painted glass (verre églomisé), gilding, and mirror glass

Culture

London

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

By the late 1600s technical improvements in French glassmaking allowed artisans to cast and polish exceptionally large plates of glass. Monumental mirrors like this one reflected light and lent interiors a sense of theatrical splendor. This mirror’s frame is also made of glass, with each panel painted and gilded on the reverse side. The delicate, highly ornamental design recalls the work of René and Thomas Pelletier, French Protestants (known as Huguenots) who fled religious persecution and settled in England, bringing with them a distinctly French design sensibility.

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